House Arrest
by Synystersdream1
Summary: Hermione faces her worst challenge.Summer after fourth year;Voldemort has returned,Sirius Black is on the loose,worse still;her parents are getting divorced.All is not as it seems with her mothers fiance.Hermione finds herself under house arrest! REWRITE
1. Chapter 1

**House arrest**

**Disclaimer; all characters belong to JK Rowling. I merely twisted the plot a little.**

**This story begins in the summer after fourth year. **

**Voldemort has returned.**

**Harry and the gang no nothing about Wormtail. **

**Though they did have Remus Lupin as their teacher in POA, Sirius didn't break out then and everyone still assumes he is guilty. **

**Sirius broke out of Azkaban after hearing about Voldemort's return.**

**Hermione didn't go home for Christmas.**

_**Chapter 1**_

_**Goodbyes and changes**_

Hermione got off the train expecting to meet her loving parents waiting beyond the barrier to meet her with open arms and happy faces. After recent events in the wizarding world she was looking forward to spending time with her family in the muggle world. What she did not expect was to be met by just her father. She thought for a moment that perhaps her mother was waiting in the car or had been caught at work, but then she got a good look at him. waving goodbye to Ron, who was red-faced as his mother swooped him up into a hug, and Harry who looked as though he had the weight of the world on his soon to be fifteen year old shoulders (which he kind of did) she headed over to the spot where her father waited for her.

Mr Granger was a shadow of the man she had last seen before boarding the Hogwarts express last September. He was thin, as though he had been starving himself for weeks, his clothes were rumpled and a few days stubble had built up on his usually clean-shaven face. "Dad? Are you alright? Where's mum?" she immediately asked, terribly worried. His bloodshot eyes met hers for a moment before he answered. She feared the very worst. "We can talk in the car." Was his response before he took her bags, attempting a cheery smile that looked more like a pained grimace, and heading out to the parking lot.

Hermione followed him, attempting to ask more questions as they made their way out into the sunlit sea of cars but he either didn't hear her or was determined not to answer until they were in the safety of his four by four. "The reason I'm here alone sweetheart" he began after they had climbed up into the jeep. "Well I don't know quite how to say this. I had hoped that your mother would…well I suppose she's rather busy with the move and whatnot." His voice cracked as he said this but she thought at least busy was an upgrade from the thoughts she had been having about her mother's absence.

"What's going on dad?" She asked. He took a deep breath and put the key into the ignition. "We are…that is to say your mother and I…she's left me. We're getting a divorce Hermione."

Silence reigned for a moment. Hermione didn't know what to say. This could not be happening. There must have been some mistake. Hermione's parents had always seemed so happy together. "Is this a joke?" she half shouted once her voice returned to her. "This must be I can't…why would you say something like that?" he gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Its happening Hermione. She gave me the papers after Christmas. I know we should have told you but…"

"No! I don't understand. I thought you were happy. I thought" he chuckled darkly. "I thought so too." He said bitterly, cutting off her protests. "But evidently I was misguided. She. She has found someone else. They've been seeing each other for months, having an affair. I was so blind." he hit the dash with his open palm and Hermione jumped. She had never seen her father like this. Instantly he apologised

"I'm so sorry darling, there's no excuse for my behaviour. This isn't fair on you, I had hoped that we could have told you together but she wanted him to come" he looked incredulous. "Can you believe it? Anyway I decided it was better you heard it from me now than the two of us bringing you home to _him_. Or worse, the two of them collecting you here." Hermione was in agreement on that front. Utterly in shock, she agreed to go to dinner with her father so as to discuss it further before he dropped her home. He was staying in a friend's house, he told her and they made no further conversation on the topic until they reached the restaurant.

Hermione didn't feel the least bit hungry, and neither did he by look of things. He pushed his food around his plate and tried, seemingly for her sake, to remain cheerful. "Let me get this straight" she said after a rather lengthy and awkward silence. "I'm going to have to live at home with them while you look for a place? Shouldn't she be leaving?" he put down his fork and leaned his elbows on the table. "You and your mother are going to be moving to the country with…him" he spoke the last word like it were a vile curse, she supposed that it was.

"And are you going to be living at home? Cant I stay with you dad? Please." It was at this point that his face crumpled and he looked as though he were about to succumb to tears. He fought them back though before he continued. "Hunny. I wish more than anything that you could stay with me but it's not that simple. You see…I'm moving away. I can't stay here. I just, I can't. I've been offered a job in your uncle's practice."

It took her a moment to realise the implications of what he was saying. Then it hit her like a two ton cauldron; "but Uncle Harold lives…no. that's not fair dad. You can't leave me here alone. It was her turn to fight back the tears. Hermione's Uncle Harold had emigrated to Australia in his twenties and had since built up a dental practice in Melbourne. How could they do this to her? She wished then that she had never gotten off the Hogwarts express. "Darling I'm so sorry. This has absolutely nothing to do with you, remember that. It's completely between your mother and I and we both still love you just the same" the words washed over her and she barely heard them over the overwhelming feeling of grief that swept through to her very soul. Her family had been torn apart without her ever realising it. "Would it have killed either of you to write to me about this? To give me some time to get used to the idea at least? I'm not eleven years old anymore dad I'm fourteen" she fought to keep her voice low and even but as quickly as the grief had taken her, it had been completely been overthrown by anger and bitterness. "Couldn't you have at least tried to sort things out between you?"

"I wanted to darling I swear it but your mother, well, she's adamant that this Liam…that there in love and there isn't anything I can do" she crossed her arms and sat back in her chair "you could stay in the country. You could be here with me. I can't believe you're just going to leave me here with them." a part of her knew that she was being unfair, that it was her father that had been betrayed but the thought of him just giving up like this. Just dropping her like she meant nothing and moving to another continent…it was too much for her to handle. All thoughts of the dark lord's return left her mind and it was momentarily filled with the feeling that both her parents were betraying her equally. Hatred for the man who had come between them unfurled in her stomach like a basilisk.

They were both silent for the journey home. She caught her father looking at her out of the corner of her eye a few times but was determined not to be the one to break the silence.

After he removed her trunk from the boot and slammed it shut though she hugged him, burying her face in his jumper, tears filling her eyes, he smelled of where he worked, to most people the smell of a dentist's office can be unpleasant, even causing anxiety to some. To Hermione it was soothing. It reminded her of when she was little and would run to her father as soon as he came home, he would lift her up and hug her even sometimes giving her a sugar free treat. "Please don't go daddy, I don't want to live with them. At least let me come with you." he kissed the top of her head. "Hunny you know that's just not possible, not yet anyway. It would disrupt your education. And besides, your mother needs you at home. When she looked up at him, it seemed as though he may start crying again. He blinked back his tears and patted her shoulder before walking her up to the front door. He left her there after a swift goodbye and promised to contact her soon.

She used her key to get into the house

In the hallway there was a stack of cardboard sheets. On closer inspection Hermione saw that they were moving boxes. She sighed. This house had been her home her whole life. After Hogwarts, it was her favourite place to be. She wondered through the house in search of her mother and found a note on the kitchen table instead. It read:

Hi darling!

Sorry I couldn't be here to welcome you home but Liam and I decided to go grab a bite to eat.

There's some microwave meals in the freezer.

Love, mum

She threw the note in the bin before putting out some food for Crookshanks and dragging her trunk up to her room and locking the door.

The room hadn't changed since she saw it last. Like the scent of her father's jumper, her pale blue walls and cream coloured furniture soothed her. She opened her school trunk, preparing to unpack it like she did every other year and then she slammed it closed, remembering that she would soon be leaving this room, this house behind. The stack of folded boxes just inside the door was a further reminder. Angrily she unfolded one and began to dump her things into it. She started with her many books.

Box after box Hermione worked off her frustration, anger and adrenaline fuelling her on. She left out only her favourite pyjamas and a couple of outfits. Exhausted she grabbed her pyjamas and her bag of toiletries out of her school trunk and crossed the hall to the bathroom, hardly having the energy left to lock the door before she turned on the shower and let the hot water fall over her, washing away her tears as she finally let her body be wracked by sobs.

She knelt on the floor of the shower and wrapped her arms around herself, taking stock of everything; her parents were getting divorced, they had been separated for the last few months. Her mother had been having an affair. She was being forced to move out to the country and play happy families with her mother and the man who had torn her family apart. Her mother hadn't even bothered to be at home when she got back home.

This was all over shadowed by Voldemort return of course. And by the escape of one of his most loyal death eaters; Sirius Black, the ministry of magic was in denial of the dark lord's return, and blamed the mysterious deaths and disappearances on Black. The order of the phoenix believed that black escaped in order to help his master return to power. Black had escaped right after it was released by the daily prophet that the death of Cedric Diggory in the last task of the triwizard tournament had been accidental and had nothing to do with harry potter and Albus Dumbledore's "mad ravings" about Voldemort being reborn.

Yup life was pretty shitty. She reached up and turned off the shower. After drying herself she changed into her pyjamas and went back to her room. The house was silent. Empty, apart from herself and Crookshanks. Hermione dug into her trunk until she found some parchment, a quill and some ink. After a few tries she managed to write twin letters to her two best friends. She was sure that they would be able to cheer her in some way. Ron's reply would surely be filled with questions like; what's divorce? Before turning to exclamations of indignation and plenty of expletives. Harry, who had a better understanding of the muggle world, would probably be more helpful. Either way she felt better for getting it all out on paper.

She threw all the cast offs into the waste paper bin and sat on her bed looking out the window into the growing darkness outside. Her faithful cat jumped up onto her knee and nuzzled her face with his own. She rubbed his back and her purred in appreciation.

The sound of the front door being opened woke her. She sat up on the bed where she had drifted off and listened to the sounds of her mother and soon to be step father walking around downstairs. She got up and closed the curtains before getting back into bed and going to sleep.

**Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback**

**Aoife.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer;****all characters belong to JK Rowling. I merely twisted the plot a little.**

_**Chapter two; Home sweet Home**_

Hermione woke to the sound of Hedwig pecking at her window. She let the snowy owl in and read over her letters;

_Dear Harry_

_I hope that things aren't too bad at your aunt and uncles. I know that you have a lot on your mind at the moment and id hate to worry you with this but im not doing to well here. You may not have noticed earlier today at the train station but my father didn't look quite himself. _

_It turns out that my parents are no longer together. They have been separated for the past few months. This may come as a surprise to you. it most definitely shocked me. I had no idea. My mother left my father for another man and we are going to be moving in with him sometime this week. I haven't met him yet but am already predisposed to hate him as you can imagine._

_What's more, my father is moving to Australia. I don't know when ill see him again, or when I will be ready to. I know that these things seem trivial in light of everything that is going on in our world and its selfish of me to be worrying so much about it but I cant help but feel distressed. If I have moved before you get to reply im sure Hedwig will be able to find me. She is a remarkable owl after all._

_How are you getting on? That's quite a stupid question I know but writing this has made me feel a little better about things and perhaps it wouldn't do you any harm to express your own feelings likewise._

_All my love, Hermione_.

Her letter to Ron was much the same. She tied both to hedwigs outstretched leg and rummaged around in her trunk for a treat for the owl before sending her off to deliver them. she could hear people moving about in the kitchen below and though it was the last thing she wanted to do, she got up and dressed before heading downstairs to face the music. After all, she wasn't about to let Crookshanks go hungry.

When she entered the kitchen her mother ran to her and enveloped her in a hug. the first thing she noticed was that she wore a different perfume, she smelled different. Everything, it seemed, was changing. "oh darling I missed you! how was school?" her mother prattled on about exams for a few moments while hermione looked over her shoulder, only half listening as a rather tall, blonde haired, brown eyed man in a sharp suit stood from the kitchen table and made his way towards them. as if sensing his presence her mother turned with a warm smile giving hermione no choice but to face him. "hermione darling this is Liam. Hes been so looking forward to meeting you" Liam smiled showing loads of gleaming teeth. "it's a pleasure. Ive heard a lot about you" he held out his hand expectantly. "that's funny."hermione couldn't help herself "I knew nothing about your existence until yesterday" she didn't shake his hand but walked past him to the cupboard where the cat food was kept and poured out some dry food for Crookshanks before breezing past the lovebirds once more with a tense "im going for a walk" her mother called after her but she made no reply.

It was a beautiful day. She walked the half mile to the nearest play park. As a child she had spent a lot of time here. Everything had seemed so much bigger back then…she sat on a swing, letting the slight summer breeze sway here back and forth a little. Her hair, loose and curly, blew around her face, so she wasn't sure if she really had seen the huge dog at the other side of the park. She tucked her hair behind her ears and looked again. The place where she had thought she saw it, by a bench in front of a large thicket of trees and bushes, was empty. Hermione went back to her swaying.

She wasn't sure how long she stayed in the park. Eventually she knew it was time to go. With one last heavy sigh she arose and made her way home to where her mother was laying the table for dinner. "darling im very disappointed in you for that rude display earlier. Liam has asked me not to mention it but he was hurt. You should really be more respectful. He is after all going to be your stepfather shortly." Hermione felt her jaw drop. "are you insane? You expect me to respect that man?" a cough from behind her made her jumpo. She recovered and turned to find Liam standing in the doorway. "we're going to be spending quite some time together over the coming summer hermione. I rather hope we can become friends." He gave her another of his toothy smiles and she had to fight back the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. "don't bother setting me a place mother. im not hungry."

Hermione searched the house for Crookshanks but the cat was nowhere to be found. She figured he must have been outside somewhere chasing mice. She left her door open in case he decided to come back during the night and went to bed early. Her last thought before sleep took her was of the strange dog she had imagined seeing in the park.

Three days later hermione sat in the kitchen listening to her mother prattle on. Every sentence seemed to begin with "Liam thinks" or "liam says" it was sickening. They were moving to liams place that afternoon.

"_Oh and darling_, _I told Liam about your school_." she continued. _"He was very understanding about it. I knew he would be."_ She looked out at her fiancé, who was demonstrating to the movers how best to carry heavy boxes; her expression was so tender, so full of adoration. It was ludicrous. Crookshanks had not returned. Hermione was beginning to worry about him. what if he had gotten hit by a car? As the last few boxes were packed into the moving truck hermione begged her mother one last time to let her wait there for the cat. "nonsence dear. That silly cat is long gone by now. if he didn't come back last night theres no reason to suppose he will tonight. We cant delay. Liam is in a mad rush." When she tried to further sway her mother the woman put her foot down. "absolutely not hermione. Just forget about that ugly creature! We'll get you a new pet, there will be plenty of space at liam's. we might even get a dog."

Hermione had never before been allowed a dog as a pet. It had been hard enough to convince them to let her keep Crookshanks and her mother had never hid her distaste for letting him stay in the house. hermione couldn't just let her cat go without doing something, so she went to their neighbour, an elderly woman who lived alone and had a couple of cats of her own. She asked the kindly lady to keep an eye out and gave her the remainder of the bag of catfood. The woman assured her that she would leave food out for him and would call if he showed up.

It was a long journey. Fields darted by as she stared out the window of the flashy car. Hermione was used to living within walking distance of a large town. This was going to be an adjustment. Liam had described his place as a modest enough house with some land. They entered the gates to find that the drive up to the house was wide and had huge gardens on either side. The driveway was long and curved and towering trees hid what turned out to be a rather large mansion from the road.

Liam pulled up outside the three storied monstrosity and walked around to the passenger door, he helped her mother out of the car before rushing to do the same for Hermione. She opened the door and jumped out before he reached it though. She knew she was being rude, but there was something odd about this man. It wasn't just that he had had an affair with her mother, that he had ruined her family life, no there was something else, something really off about him and his toothy grin.

He opened the front door of the house with great flair. "darling" he said addressing her mother. "why don't you pop the kettle on while hermione and I take a look around?

There was a door at the end of the marble floored hall- the kitchen, and an open arch way on either side of the protruding staircase, these led to the formal and informal living rooms. Both were spacious, and she noticed that neither room had a television. the formal living room, on the right, opened out at the end into a large dining room, with a big mahogany table and high backed chairs.

They entered the kitchen after her mother and he showed her where everything went. It was old fashioned and beautiful. There was a huge black stove at one end the floor was white marble, like the hall. They moved on back out into the hall and up the stairs. Hermione's converse made barely a sound on the rich soft cream and brown carpet beneath her feet on the next floor. "Most of the bedrooms are on this floor" he said. "As well as my office. Your room and the library are situated on the next floor. Your mother told me you enjoy reading so I had the reading room renovated to become your suite." Hermione almost smiled. The house was beautiful, and he was doing his best to make her feel welcome, but it just didn't feel like home. it felt wrong.

They climbed the stairs to the next floor. There were two doors. One, a set of double doors with ornate handles, led to the library. It was amazing. Shelves ranged from floor to ceiling, some were empty, and a large comfortable couch was in one corner, next to an ornate fireplace. There was a rich green rug in front of the roaring fire. Hermione could stretch her arms out wide in the space between the rows of book shelves. The smell of old books was lovely. It reminded her of Hogwarts_. "_Are you ready to see your room?" Liam asked from the door.

She followed him back out to the other door. He gestured for her to open it. Inside, the first thing she noticed was the large dark brown bed, flanked on either side by matching bedside cabinets. Two dark brown doors with black handles stood at one side of the room, while the other side held a large study desk and bookshelves, a large mirror, and a window that looked out at a beautifully kept lawn.

The floor was carpeted in a deep, soft white, while the walls were a bright turquoise. The two mysterious doors the other end of the room turned out to be a bathroom and a dressing room, complete with a built in shoe rack, dressing table, wardrobes and a large chest of drawers. She had no idea what to say. She ran her hand over the bookshelves and the study desk. The wood was beautiful. looking back she realised that he had left.

Looking out the window she could have sworn that she saw a big black dog at the gate. She blinked and it was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer; all characters belong to JK Rowling. I merely twisted the plot a little.**

_**Chapter 3 **_

Hermione took a stroll around the grounds after dinner that evening. She had not yet heard anything from either Harry or Ron and couldn't help but feel a little lonely. The gardens were beautiful, filled with every sort of flower imaginable. The sight of butterflies dancing about gave her a pang in her heart for Crookshanks. He loved chasing butterflies. Her favourite part of the gardens was the grove of trees at the front of the property. There was less order and planning to them than the rest of the organised beds and hedgerows. She felt more comfortable below them than out in the sunlight where she had begun to get the feeling that she was being watched.

The next day Liam left early. He didn't return that night or the next. she wondered where it was he went but her mother only supplied her with a vague "business trip" which left her thirst for knowledge unsatisfied.

When he did come back he didn't speak of the trip and she didn't bother to ask him about his job. She didn't persue any topic of conversation with him.

She entered the dining room just as her mother came in with dinner. Hermione wasn't feeling particularly hungry but she felt a little guilty about not giving a hand with the food so she ate as much as she could. Liam was all smiles as he asked her about the wizarding world, her school and finally her friends.

"Are your friend's muggle born too?" he asked, using the term she had taught him moments before. She shrugged. "Some of them I suppose. It doesn't really matter all that much" he nodded taking it all in. "well it matters to some doesn't it darling?" her mother chipped in. "there's that boy who used to bully you about it, and this Dark Lord person you mentioned." Hermione put down her cutlery and prepared to carry her things out to the kitchen. "Yeah I guess" she said. Not wanting to go into detail about the workings of Voldemort's madness. "Ill do the wash up." Liam was up in an instant "ill give you a hand" he said and followed her out, carrying his and her mother's plates.

Hermione ran the sink and gathered the stuff into a pile while Liam busied himself with finding a tea-towel. "So these friends." He said. "Anyone in particular you hang around with? Any boyfriends?" she smiled tensely. "No, no boyfriends. I'm actually going to be spending a few weeks this summer with one of my friends and his family. Do it every year." She expected him to nod in response or change the subject but he shocked her by saying "no I don't think that's appropriate. You're not gallivanting into the sunset with some boy. Not on my watch." His whole demeanour had changed. He loomed over her, looking intimidating. Hermione's hackles were raised. "You don't have the authority to say where I go or what I do" she said indignantly. He smiled then, and it wasn't his usual charming toothy grin but something a lot more menacing. "This is my house. I say what goes on under this roof. Do you understand?" she was not about to be bossed around by this pompous arse. The feel of her wand in her jacket pocket gave her strength.

"You have no right to talk to me this way." he chuckled. "And whose going to stop me?" he asked. "Your idiot father? Your friends? I don't see them here. Your dad ran away to Australia didn't he? Couldn't wait to be rid of his sneery little know it all." she slapped him, tears of anger filling her eyes. He didn't even flinch but instead grabbed her hand just as she was about to reach her wand. If she could just reach it with her other hand and jinx him she was sure the wizengamot would see things in her favour. He twisted her arm behind her back before reaching into her pocket and taking her wand. She called out to her mother. "She won't help you" he hissed in her ear. "Who would want to save a filthy little mudblood like you?" she reeled back in shock and he laughed as she ran back into the dining room, slipping on the soapy water that poured out from the overflowing sink. "Mum!" she cried "mum quick we have to try to get out of here!" her mother didn't move from her seat. She didn't even look at her. She stayed where she was, smiling into the distance. A chuckle from the doorway behind her made her turn. "What have you done to her!" she screamed at Liam. He just smiled at her. "Finish the dishes darling" he directed at her mother, who got up and headed into the kitchen stopping to kiss her fiancé on the cheek as she went.

Hermione was horrified. Her only chance, she figured, was to escape and bring back help. She ran for the door, out into the waning sunshine and down the drive. Why isn't he stopping me? She wondered as she ran. He has my wand. He could easily stop me. But he didn't. She ran the whole way to the towering gate only to find it locked. Undeterred she attempted to climb it. As soon as she touched the black metal of the gate a wave of pain crashed over her. She was flung back, screaming in agony as though electrocuted and lay in a heap on the gravel. Before she blacked out she was sure she had heard a loud bark. She opened her eyes to find herself being carried back into the house by Liam. He noticed that she had regained consciousness and sneered down at her. "That wasn't very pleasant was it?" he asked. She glared up at him and tried to wriggle out of his grasp but he held her tightly to him and she still felt weak. There was blood on her clothes and she could taste some in her mouth. "Put me down" she said as they entered the mansion. "As you say" he said before dropping her on the carpet. She could hear her mother humming in the kitchen. Hermione tried to stand but he didn't give her a chance. He grabbed her hair and pulled her towards the stairs. She was forced to crawl on her hands and knees as he half dragged her up the two flights of stairs to her room.

"Have you learned your lesson mudblood!" he shouted as he threw her across the floor of her room. She whimpered in response, trying once more to get to her feet. "You belong on the ground with the rest of the filth" he said before pushing her down again. Terrified, she screamed. He placed his foot on her chest and undid his belt buckle. Hermione's eyes widened in sudden realization and fear and she tried desperately to get away but he was too strong. He straddled her and undid the button on her jeans before pulling them down. She clawed at him and tried to push him off her but he merely swatted her hands away and in one swift and agonizingly painful motion pushed himself inside her. She cried out and pulled at his hair, his clothes. He grabbed her hair once more and banged her head off the floor. Dazed, she could only lie there as he raped her, coming inside her with one last thrust of his hips. He got off her and redressed before sneering down at her one last time. "Know your place you dirty whore." He said and slammed the door behind him. Hermione lay there crying until she could gather the strength to pick her up off the floor and pull on her trousers. She just made it to the bed and got in under the covers before losing consciousness once more.

Hermione awoke hours later alone in her room. Her head pounded and it took her a moment to remember what had happened. She lay in shock for a while, curled into a ball with the pain that radiated through her whole body. The door opened and she reared back in fear, almost falling out of the bed. Her mother entered

"Oh darling you're awake" she sounded relieved. "We've both been so worried. When Liam carried you into the house I nearly had a heart attack. My goodness did you not realize the gate is electric? Well anyway, I went out and brought the dog up to the house for you." Hermione was confused"dog? What dog?" she croaked, her voice sounding hoarse. Her mother handed her a glass of water which she accepted with shaky hands "The dog you tried to let in. I went down the drive after Liam carried you in to fetch it. He's very friendly, if not a little scruffy. Liam said there was a dog sitting outside the gate when he went down for you and I thought about how much you must be missing that awful cat."

Hearing her usually brilliant mother talk in such a ditzy confused manor especially after what had happened to her only hours before made her angry. "I wasn't looking for a stupid dog I was trying to escape so I could save both our lives!" she shouted, her throat aching. "He's a death eater mum. One of Voldemort's followers and he's probably going to kill us if we don't get out of here! He raped me mum!" her voice cracked.

Hermione's mother froze, her eyes glazed over and she began to hum. "Careful" came Liam's sneering voice from the door. "You might break her." at the sound of his voice her mother became reanimated. "There you are darling. I was just telling Hermione about the dog" she smiled up at him fondly. "Is that so dear" he replied. "Well I don't know. Perhaps it would be better if we got rid of It." her mother frowned. "But we promised her she could have a new pet" she said. For a moment there was a spark of something in her eyes. Hermione wondered if she were fighting his influence, if there was something left of her trying to break free.

Liam frowned and fidgeted in his pocket for a moment, as though deciding whether or not to curse her again. Finally he sighed "well I suppose we did promise her she could have one so I suppose we may keep It." he didn't look overly happy about it. Hermione wondered why he didn't order her to get rid of the dog but then she remembered that it was probably simpler to let some things go like in this case if her suspicions were correct about the imperius curse. You can't over do it or you might completely frazzle a person's mind. Looking at the woman who raised her she felt that her mind might already be on the edge.

"Lets give Hermione some time to rest shall we? You look as though you could do with a nap yourself" she nodded. "So thoughtful" and they left. A few moments later a giant black dog padded into the room. It looked up at her for a moment, seemingly waiting for her to acknowledge it. Hermione knew she should feel suspicious about the dog's presence but something about its eyes soothed her. He reminded her a little of Crookshanks in a way. She got out of bed and held out her hand to it. He nuzzled it. She broke into tears then and sank to the floor. Looking over to the sot on the floor where it had happened she began to tear at her hear. There was a little pool of blood on the white carpet where he had stolen something from her she could never get back. The dog nuzzled her face and growled at the dried blood before pacing the room. She held out her hand to him once more, still sobbing and he returned to her, letting her pat him "he doesn't want me to have you does he?" she said. "He doesn't want me to have anyone to talk to." She felt that by keeping the dog she was defying Liam in some way. It was a small victory, she knew, but she clung to it, mustering all her inner strength she pushed down her feelings. They weren't going to help her devise a plan to escape.

Hermione ran her hands through the matted fur on the dogs back. "Right, she proclaimed, her voice thick from crying. "First things first you need a bath." she could have sworn that he understood her then because he whimpered as though in fright. She laughed at her own imaginings and led him into the adjoining bathroom.

After bathing the dog and drying him as best she could she decided she was in need of one herself. She got fresh towels and cleaned away all the grime before running the hot water. The dog, who she had decided to name fluffy, proceeded to scratch at the door as soon as she took her jacket off. "Fluffy" she said as she locked the door. "You can't leave now. I need you to guard the door for me." He seemed determined to leave the bathroom so she opened the door again "ok, you win." She said. She hugged his wet fur and patted his head. "I'm so scared fluffy." She began to cry. Fluffy moved about uncomfortably as all dogs do when you hug them. She got up and made to close the door but the dog walked back into the bathroom and sat obediently inside the door. "Make up your mind already" she said, smiling and wiping at her eyes before locking them in once more.

Fluffy sat facing the door as she undressed and sank into the warm bath and he remained that way until she wrapped herself in a large towel and left the bathroom. He didn't follow her into the dressing room. She closed the door behind her and got into a pair of warm pyjamas before re-entering her bedroom and getting into the bed. Fluffy lay down by the door and she could have sworn that he was guarding it.

Hermione spent most of the following day in her room, only leaving it to grab a handful of books from the library and getting food from the kitchen for fluffy. Liam didn't return home that night from wherever he went when he told her mother he was working. She wondered where it was that he went. Probably wherever Voldemort was she supposed.

The next day she decided that it wasn't fair to fluffy to keep him cooped up. She left the house with a bag of books and the dog in tow, heading straight for the grove of trees. Her mother called out to her at meal times but she never answered. Fluffy lay beside her as she sat leaning against one of the many old trees. They spent the next few blissfully Liam free days that way. She read aloud to him and talked to him as though he were a person. His presence made her feel strangely safe and she was thankful for that. She needed a friend and he was there. He seemed to listen when she spoke and nuzzled her arm or shoulder every now and again. Occasionally he would run off after a rabbit or just to stretch his legs and she was cheered by how free he looked. She told him about not hearing from her friends, about Voldemort's return and the triwizard tournament. When it became too dark to read anymore she brought him into the house and they spent the evenings in the library.

When Liam arrived back Hermione was reading Hogwarts a history aloud to fluffy in the library, who was staring out the window when his ears suddenly pricked up and he ran over to the door, growling low in his throat. She then heard footsteps on the stairs. She heard her room door open and shut and cursed the fact that there was nowhere to hide. He would always find her. The door swung open and fluffy jumped for Liam as he appeared.

He was too late though as the wizard was ready. He froze fluffy in mid leap and laughed before sending him flying into one of the bookshelves. "No!" Hermione screamed and made to rush for him but Liam caught her and threw her back down on the couch. "You have him trained already I see" he said. "I have questions for you granger. The dark lord wishes to have some answers. Tell me all you know about Potter." She spat at him. "Never" she said. Sounding braver than she felt. "You're going to kill me anyway. Why should I tell you anything." He laughed. "I see you've not yet learned your lesson. Well I have ways of making you talk. There are far worse things than death. Cruccio!" she screamed as the curse hit her. The pain was beyond anything she had ever felt before. Then it was gone as soon as it had come. "Tell me!" he yelled. "Where is Potter" she remained silent.

He used the Cruciatus curse on her for what seemed like hours. Sweat beaded his brow. Hermione was in so much pain that she wouldn't have been able to tell him anything even if she wanted to. He gave up eventually "this isn't over granger. We'll continue this later." He left and she managed to crawl over to where fluffy lay amidst the wreckage of the bookshelf. He was no longer frozen but there was a gash on his head amidst his fur from which he had bled profusely. "Please be alright" she whimpered. If he died she would have no one. Then she remembered the vial of essence of dittany she had in her trunk.

Hermione climbed to her feet and limped to her room; she gathered up the blanket from her bed and the small vial and returned to the library where he lay just as she left him. She administered a few drops to his wound and covered them both with the blanket. After a moment his wound healed and his breathing became more regular. Hermione fell asleep with her hand nestled beneath the thick fur of his neck.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer; all characters belong to JK Rowling. I merely twisted the plot a little.**

_**Chapter 4**_

Sirius Black was changed by his stint in Azkaban. The years, he knew, had not been kind to him. He was content to remain there until the end of his days with nothing but memories and the wails of his fellow prisoners to keep him company. He deserved to be punished. If it weren't for him his best friend would be alive. If it weren't for him his godson would not be an orphan. If he had not convinced James to choose Peter…these thoughts consumed him. Day in, day out he remained in his cell, the only thing keeping him from completely losing his mind was his animagus. Then one day the minister inspected the prison. Fudge gave him a newspaper and in it he read about the events of the triwizard tournament. He read about the boy who had been killed, how Harry had proclaimed the return of the dark lord and that his claims were put down as lies, that Dumbledore, who supported him, was deemed batty and senile. Dumbledore's opinion was all the proof Sirius needed.

He needed to escape. He had to protect his godson, prove his own innocence and kill Wormtail.

Slipping through his bars in dog form he got past the Dementors and made his way to England. It was difficult without a wand but not impossible. His first port of call was to check on his godson he found him in a park in little whinging, looking miserable. Harry looked just like his father. Sirius had to stop himself from approaching him. Now was not the time to reveal himself.

His next stop was to the Weasley family, where he had been informed that Wormtail was hiding out, pretending to be a pet rat. The burrow looked as though it hadn't been lived in for a while when he got there, to his surprise. He searched the house from top to bottom. He found photographic evidence that Wormtail had been there in the form of a framed newspaper cutting of the large family on a trip to Egypt, but no proof as to where the family were now. Sirius spotted Harry in some of the family's photos and some newspaper cut outs. Featured heavily in these also was a girl called Hermione Granger. Some old letters in the youngest boy's room told him where she lived. He decided to make her his next port of call.

He found the house easily enough. There he met the girl's familiar, a cat. In his animagus state he was able to communicate with the odd looking creature. It told him about the dark wizard that had infiltrated the family. Sirius watched the house in the hopes of seeing who this mysterious wizard could be. Was it Wormtail? He hoped so. He didn't recognise the man he saw at the house, though he didn't rule out polyjuice. He saw the girl leave and followed her to a park where she sat just as dejectedly as harry had. She was pretty he couldn't deny that, but young. Her hair blew across her face in gentle curls and her skin was flawless. She was crying though. She looked towards him and for a moment he was sure she had seen him. He backed away into the bushes surrounding one edge of the play park and would have waited for her to leave but there was a stench of blood on the air.

He found the cat dead in a nearby ditch. Its neck was nearly wrenched from its body. He should have taken the girl then, but out of his own selfishness and curiosity he waited. He followed them when they moved.

It took him a couple of days to catch up, but when he did he was very glad that he had, and very concerned for the pretty girl who had been crying in the park.

Sirius had been at this house before. It was back in the days before he ran away from home, when he was still in Hogwarts. His mother used to drag him to lots of social events, parties, weddings etc. luckily or him he would often run into his older cousin Andromeda at those awful things and they would spend the evening laughing at everyone else there, including her sisters and his brother, who were so up their own arses it was a wonder they never turned inside out.

These parties took place at various homes of the wealthy and powerful upper-class pureblood snobs. People like most of the black family, the Malfoys and the Yaxleys. It was at the Yaxley family manor that Hermione and her mother were being held. Like Lucius Malfoy, Yaxley had given information on other death eaters in order to stay out of Azkaban. The stories he had heard about the atrocities that man committed during the war made Sirius very concerned for Hermione's safety.

He watched the manor, waiting for his chance. He didn't have long to wait. He watched as she ran towards the gates. He saw how she was flung back by the magic that encircled the boundary of the estate and he watched as Yaxley carried her back into the house. There was nothing he could do but wait impatiently for someone to open the gates. He was surprised when the woman he recognized as Hermione's mother came out and let him in. one look at the poor woman told him that she was imperiused. She led him into the house and fed him. He disliked the food but had lived off worse since his escape.

Finally he got the chance to go up to the girl. He could smell the blood before he entered the room. One look at her was enough to tell him what had happened since last he laid eyes on her and anger flooded through him. She held onto him and he felt such an overwhelming need to protect her. It startled him after living so long on regret and vengeful imaginings. He promised himself that he wouldn't let that bastard hurt her again. He even let her give him a bath in an attempt to humour her.

He panicked when she proceeded to run a bath for herself afterwards. The last thing she needed was to look back after finding out who he really was and realising that after her ordeal with one middle aged man, she had been naked in front of another. Then he realised just how frightened she was to be alone and he decided that what she really did need more than anything else was a friend. He turned his back and guarded the door, but couldn't help but notice the bruises. After that moment he never left her side.

He would watch her for hours as she sat reading, and sometimes just sat staring into space by her tree. Her once beautiful, shiny curls hung on her shoulders she wore big baggy clothes, as though trying to make herself appear less attractive, though in his mind that that wouldn't be possible. She had a strength within her that had not yet been broken and he admired that above all else.

She reminded him a lot of himself; trapped, cut off from the world. She was still beautiful. And she still had a glint of hope in her eyes that he had lost a long time ago. He added another thing to his checklist; save the girl.

He failed at that, the day in the library. He woke in the middle of the night to find her lying beside him on the floor where he had landed hours before. He failed to save her. He would not fail again.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 5

Hermione woke up the next morning to find fluffy sitting by the door. He looked completely cured and she thanked Merlin that he was ok. She dragged the blanket back to her room and sat on the bed. Fluffy jumped up beside her and she patted him in silence for a while. "We need to get out Fluffy. We were lucky he didn't kill you last night. He's getting impatient, wants me to tell him where harry is. I won't though don't you worry about that, I'll die first. Why haven't they found me yet? Do they even know something's wrong? Surely someone will miss me. I hope. I don't want to die here Fluffy. The other times with Harry and Ron; saving the philosophers stone, running from professor Lupin when he forgot to take his wolfs bane, they were different. We were ready to risk our lives for the greater good, but here, like this…being afraid all the time, having him torture me and… "

She sobbed into his fur. Hermione couldn't help but feel abandoned by her friends. Were they looking for her? "Well either way we don't have time to wait for them. Let's go outside so you can stretch your legs." She rubbed at her eyes and hugged her beloved friend before getting up off the bed. If her friends could have seen her they might not have recognised her. She was a shadow of her former self. Though she hadn't given Liam any information, the never ending questions and subsequent torture were taking there tole one her body and especially her mind.

Sirius had also been wondering at her friend's lack of success at finding her. Yaxley roamed the hallways at night, his wand out, waiting; it seemed for Hermione to try to escape, or for someone to try to rescue her. Sirius was surprised no one had yet tried. She was a beautiful, intelligent girl and everyone seemed to have just forgotten her.

She got changed and they made their way through the house with practiced silence. When they reached the second floor fluffy's ears pricked and he moved stealthily to the door she recognized as the entrance to Liam's office. Hermione tried to get him to come back but once she heard the voices coming from the room she followed just as quietly.

She could hear two voices from within the office. One was Liam's pompous tone; the other was one she didn't recognise. "The dark lord is not pleased with your progress Yaxley." Said the voice. "He becomes impatient."

"Tell him that it is taking longer than I had initially planned. She is stubborn. I am beginning to think that the mudblood knows nothing at all. If so then this was all a waste."

"Ha the dark lord says that for you it has not been such a waste, with two women to use as you please, dirty blood or no, you seem to be enjoying life as a muggle." Liam emitted a noise close to a growl.

"How dare you. Be sure of this Wormtail, our next meeting will not be quite so civilised. If there is nothing else then I have some business to attend to."

Hermione just had enough time to drag fluffy away and hide in one of the adjoining bedrooms before his office door opened and Liam stormed out and went up the stairs to the second floor, presumably looking for her.

She waited for a moment before slipping downstairs and out the front door, fluffy in tow. He seemed agitated, walking to and fro as they hid within the trees. Hermione was perplexed and disgusted by what she had heard.

"Who is Wormtail?" She wondered aloud. Fluffy growled in answer and she looked back at the house thinking that Liam might be approaching. She saw nothing though and sighed in relief. "Don't scare me like that" she reproached the dog. "I suppose we know Liam's real name now at least." He padded back towards her. Before he reached her though she heard a shout and felt herself being dragged by invisible bonds at her wrists back towards the house. She yelped and tried to fight it but to no avail. Fluffy was unable to keep up with the speed at which she was dragged backwards through the air and he was left far behind.

One inside the house Liam let go of the spell he had cast and slammed the door before the sprinting dog reached it. He once more dragged her up to her room by her hair and threw her across the bed. She fought hard but again was no match for his immense strength. He used his wand to slice through her clothes, making gashes in her skin as he did so.

"Last chance mudblood. Where is Potter? When she made no answer apart from continuing to try to push him away from her he produced a knife. "If you tell me where he is I will heal you. If you don't…" he punctuated the sentence by plunging the knife into her abdomen. He removed it and threw it across the floor. Hermione screamed in pain but was silenced when he covered her mouth with his own. Bile and blood rose in her throat as he undid his trousers and once more entered her body. "Where. Is. Potter?" he thrust into her after each word. She tried desperately to gouge out his eyeballs but he swatted her arms away. She saw the blood soaking the bed sheets and knew she was going to die. He licked the side of her face but she was too weak to care anymore.

Suddenly he ceased moving. His eyes widened in shock and he took a step back. She was falling into nothingness, her vision blurry but she was conscious long enough to see someone standing in the room, their face a mask of anger and terror simultaneously. "Black?"

Then the darkness took her.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 6

Sirius ran towards the house, praying that he wouldn't be too late to save her. He didn't know what he would do if he lost her. The door was slammed and a moment later he hit it. It didn't budge. It was time, he decided, and changed back to human form.

He banged his shoulder against the door with his shoulder again and again, but to no avail. Running around the vast house he yanked open the back door and ran past a bewildered looking Mrs. Granger, into the hall and up the two flights of stairs. Without a wand his only hope was stealth and he hoped to Merlin that Yaxley hadn't heard the commotion he had made at the front door. He opened the bedroom door quietly and the sight before him. There was blood everywhere and Yaxley was…without stopping and forgetting all caution he grabbed the bloodstained knife from the floor where it had been thrown and plunged it into the vile beasts back again and again.

He pushed the dying man to the floor and looked down at Hermione who lay covered in her own blood across the bed. She muttered something he didn't catch before her eyes closed. Fear that he was too late to save her overtook him and he would forever remember the expression of pain on her beautiful face, her last words gone unheard. "Hermione!" he yelled her name at the top of his lungs as he picked up Yaxleys wand and gathered her thin frame easily in his arms. He cradled her to him as he pivoted on the spot and disapparated to the first place that came to mind. He didn't care if he was killed on sight. He deserved everything his old friend threw at him as long as she was saved. She was the only thing that mattered.

The kitchen was too small to accommodate the amount of people who were dining there that night so tables had been conjured up outside, where there was enough room for everyone. This was the headquarters of the order of the phoenix.

Remus Lupin lived in a secluded house, far from civilisation. It wasn't much; four bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and two bathrooms. There was a big garden though. Molly had outdone herself once again with her stunning food. Everyone was tucking in to the Sunday roast with every kind of vegetable you could imagine when he heard it, the desperate cry for help. He was the only one to hear over the gabbing crowd, with his werewolf senses.

He jerked his head to Kingsly and Arthur who had been chatting but had looked up when he had tensed in his seat. He signalled for them to follow him and got up, taking out his wand and heading in the direction of the call.

Remus could not believe what he was seeing. The Fidelius charm saw to it that Sirius couldn't find them. He was walking around in the field next to Remus' property, calling out for him. "Why that's Hermione!" Arthur shouted. It was. Remus remembered the bushy haired girl he had once taught. She was limp in Sirius' arms. Naked. Both she and Sirius were covered in blood. "Please Mooney you have to save her!" called his old friend. Remus walked out past the barrier of the fidelius charm, his wand raised. He noticed that their small group had been joined by harry, Ron, mad eye, and Nymphadora Tonks.

"Black!" he called. "Put the girl down and back away" to his immense surprise, Sirius did as he instructed and also dropped the wand he was carrying and put his hands behind his head in a sign of submission. "Please Remus, old friend. Please just save her. She doesn't have long left." Tonks sent ropes from her wand that wrapped their way tightly around Sirius' body and they all ran to the girl, who lay so still in the grass.

There were shouts of "Hermione" and "oh gods please no" from the boys. He pushed through them and shouted to no one in particular. "I need some essence of dittany!" it was mad eye who proffered some. Remus wasn't surprised. The old Auror was so paranoid he probably had a whole medi Pac in his robes. While he took care of Hermione Sirius was watching from where he lay, tears cascading down his face. He didn't try to escape. Soon, the wound was closed. Molly appeared with a blanket and wrapped it around the unconscious girl.

Harry and Ron carried her into the small house, and Remus, Tonks, Kingsley, Arthur and mad eye gathered around Black, after levitating him into the zone protected by the fidelius charm. "Before you bring me back to Azkaban, or kill me" Sirius said. "Go to the Yaxley manor. He did this. I'd say his polyjuice potion will have worn off by now." Remus looked to mad eye, who nodded to Tonks, and they left. Remus glared down at the man who was responsible for the deaths of his friends.

Something in his eyes made Remus stay his wand. "What did you do to the girl?" He said. "Just save her Mooney please"

"She's being taken care of. You had better hope to Merlin that she survives black. A murderer, yes, but I never put you down as a rapist." He looked down at the man he had once trusted with his life in disgust. Sirius rolled onto his back. "I have committed no crime Mooney"

"Don't call me that" Remus hissed. "Are you trying to imply that she asked for whatever you did to her? That she wanted to be stabbed and whatever else you have done to her?"

Sirius had stopped crying and his expression turned to anger. "I did not do anything to that girl but be a friend to her." at this stage Harry had rejoined them. Remus had to restrain him from jumping on the man, though he knew that Black deserved nothing less. "Where were you when death eaters infiltrated her family? Where were any of you when she was taken to Yaxley manor and tortured for information about Harry? She told him nothing by the way; no matter how long he tortured her or how many times he raped her!"

"Yaxley?" Remus asked. "Was he your accomplice Sirius? Did you take turns?" it was his turn to be restrained now. "Remus, control yourself" Arthur said. Though he looked as disgusted as Lupin felt. "Why are you all here you should be helping her?" Sirius yelled at them, spittle flying from his mouth.

"She's going to survive." Ron said as he too joined them, mum and Ginny are with her. She woke up and kept muttering something about fluffy. Mum gave her something to help her sleep." Sirius closed his eyes, a tear trailed down his face. "Thank Merlin" he muttered. That set Ron off and Harry and Arthur had to work together to drag him back to the house. Lupin levitated Sirius into one of the tents the order set up due to the lack of space in the house. Though he tried to coax more out of him, Sirius remained silent.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 7

Hermione woke feeling better than she had in such a long time. Light filtered into the unfamiliar room and for a moment she panicked before she caught sight of Harry and Ron asleep at her bedside. Relief flooded through her and she burst into tears. She was saved! Her sobs woke the sleeping boys and they rushed to her with exclamations of "Hermione! You're awake!" she embraced them both and laughed through her tears. "Where are we?" she asked once she was able to speak. "Lupin's place" Ron told her. "We thought you were a goner when you showed up." harry shoved him. "Shut up. Are you alright Hermione? What did that bastard do to you?" then she remembered. "Fluffy! Where is he?" they looked at each other in confusion. "Who or what is this fluffy. You were rambling on about it yesterday" Ron received another shove.

"My dog…Merlin! Sirius Black. Where is he?" they shared a look before harry spoke. "Don't worry Hermione, they got him. He won't be able to hurt you again" it was Hermione's turn to be confused. "Hurt me? He saved my life. I need to find him." she threw back the covers and jumped out of the bed before immediately falling onto the ground. The boys rushed to pick her up. "I need to find him. Where is he?"

_Sirius._He had been living in her house, sleeping on her bed, listening to her stories…without her ever suspecting. She looked over at her friends. The warm cosy feeling she had had was now almost gone. She noticed now the shadows under their eyes, the tension in their shoulders. Could she forgive them for not noticing she needed help? She knew she would eventually. She had never been one to hold a grudge for too long. She would just need time for that wound to heal.

Her thoughts were led back to Sirius. He had been there at her time of need. He had listened to her stories, her hopes and fears, sure perhaps it was all a trick to get her to open up and confess some secret of the order or something…but why then would he have saved her. Why did he bring her here? It was all so confusing. She really didn't know what to think about it all. There had been moments when she was talking to fluffy/Black when she had thought he understood her. She had been right about that. When she had cried in front of him he had always seemed to try to cheer her up or comfort her by nudging her knee or huddling closer to her. She had never felt lonely or scared in his presence. She had felt protected. Even loved…

They helped her out the door and through to the kitchen, where molly tried to waylay her, telling her she ought to be resting. Hermione pushed past the motherly woman and out into the sunshine. A wave of guilt hit her as she thought of her own mother for the first time since she had woken up. She pushed it down for the moment, needing to find Sirius before they hurt him or worse.

The boys showed her to the tent where Sirius was being kept. His eyes lit up when she walked in and she momentarily felt awkward and embarrassed in his presence. He had seen things in the house, had witnessed what Yaxley did to her. "Hermione you shouldn't be in here." Came Remus Lupin's voice from the other side of the tent. She raised a hand to shush him, her eyes on the man wrapped in tight ropes as he sat propped up in a chair. "You're fluffy" she said. He nodded. "Why did you save me?" Remus interrupted before Sirius could utter a word. Dumbledore is on his way to question him Hermione. He said he will only answer to him. "Shut up Mooney." Sirius said. "Hermione I should have gotten there before he hurt you. I'm so sorry" he was cut off again by Lupin. "Don't you address her! Don't you dare talk to her, haven't you done enough?"

"Remus" Hermione said as authoratively as she could. He turned to her, surprised. "I want to talk to him" Lupin sat back down on his chair. "Thank you"

"Flu…Mr. Black. Why were you at my house, and then at Liam's, I mean Yaxleys place." He looked up at her again and she noticed how his eyes hadn't changed. "When I broke out of Azkaban I first went to check on harry" Remus snorted and sudden realisation dawned on Harry. "I saw you!"He exclaimed. "I thought I was going mad" Sirius continued with his story. "Then I went to the Weasley's in search of Wormtail but it appears that I was too late, he's already joined Voldemort."

"He helped him return" Ron interrupted. Sirius nodded. "Then I went to your house. I met your familiar."

"Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed. "Is he ok? He disappeared." Sirius shook his head. "Yaxley killed him. When I met him he told me that a dark wizard had infiltrated your family." Hermione nodded. Remus interrupted once more. "By which time you should have contacted the order" Sirius nodded looking ashamed. "I should have, I should have killed the bastard then and there but I didn't. I thought it might have been Wormtail and I needed proof. I was consumed with thoughts of revenge upon that bastard."

"Why" harry asked. Sirius chuckled darkly. "Does it matter now? You won't believe me. Dumbledore's my only hope on that score."

"You think that clearing your name for peters murder will save you? We know he lives but what you did to the potters still stands, peter or no peter." Remus said bitterly.

"Anyway" Sirius continued. "I followed you to Yaxleys where I waited for a chance to get in. I didn't know you then, my only thoughts were of Wormtail. Your mother let me in and you know the rest."

"We don't" said harry and Ron simultaneously. "Well you will once Dumbledore arrives."

"That hour is nigh" came the old wizards voice as he entered the tent. He ordered everyone to leave. Hermione rose from her seat but he held up a hand. "If you would be so good as to stay miss granger I would be very grateful. He conjured a blanket for her and she wrapped it around her shoulders gratefully. The pyjamas belonging to Ginny weren't very warm and she was glad of the heat.

Everyone else left the tent. Dumbledore regarded Sirius for a while before telling him to say what he had to say. Sirius told him everything without hesitation and he grew more and more in Hermione's esteem as the interrogation wore on. He had to stop when he spoke about the night before and cleared his throat before going on. When he finished his tale Dumbledore released him from his bonds. He turned to Hermione and his twinkling blue eyes were full of admiration. "To come through what you have Miss Granger takes a lot. You are a true Gryffindor and I thank you on behalf of the wizarding and indeed the muggle world for your strength and bravery. Hermione couldn't help but shed a tear at his speech. "But I couldn't…I wasn't strong enough to stop him…to save myself." she began to cry in earnest and the elderly wizard grasped both her shoulders gently. But you survived. You didn't give up hope and you showed more courage than many a person with twice your physical strength. You thought not of your own life, but of your loved ones and that's why you are here today. Love is the greatest kind of magic."

Dumbledore bid Sirius to follow him out to the house but before he left Hermione stopped him. She grasped his hand, which still sported her blood. "Thank you Sirius. You saved my life" he looked down at her a little awkwardly. "I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner." He said and he left. She wrapped the blanket more tightly around herself and followed them out. Dumbledore explained to the order that Sirius was innocent. There was a moment of silence after he had finished explaining what had happened before Remus, shame faced, approached him and they shared a very brief, very awkward hug that was more backslapping than anything. Hermione chose that moment to slip away to her room unnoticed. She needed time to think and rest.

Before she could climb the stairs she was called back by a kindly voice. It was Lupin; she looked out into the garden to find that Sirius was deep in discussion with Harry. "Yes?" she asked her old teacher. He sat down at the kitchen table and gestured for her to do the same. "Id like to talk about your parents." He said. Hermione felt guilty again for not asking about her mother. "Are they ok?" he nodded but she could tell there was more. "As you know your mother was under the imperius curse, had been for months."

"Was the curse lifted?" she asked. "Yes" he replied. "But the thing is that…well she became very overwhelmed. She told Tonks and Moody about everything that had happened. She remembered everything and it was all a bit much for her. the guilt of hearing and seeing what Yaxley was up to and being unable to help you, being trapped in her own mind, well they thought it was for the best that they should modify her mind. They took her to your father and then Alastor modified his mind too. They have no memory of their lives here in England" Hermione gasped in shock. "We feel that as well as saving your mother from a nervous breakdown, they're safer this way. Harder to find. Perhaps when this is all over, if Voldemort is defeated, well there's always hope." She didn't know what to say. If she were truly honest with herself, she felt relieved. They were safe; the wizarding world would no longer infringe upon and endanger their lives. She was snapped out of her reverie when Remus put his hand over hers. She jumped back, startled. He stood, his face a mask of pity. "Oh Hermione I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. The order, harry, Ron, we should have known. I'm so very sorry."

She laid her hand on top of his on the table and a tear fell from her cheek, landing on his knuckle. "I know." She said. "Are you in any pain? Can I get you a healing potion?" she shook her head. I'm not in physical pain." He nodded, realising what she meant. "Emotional scars are so much worse. How about something to help you sleep?" she nodded and he fetched a vial from a cupboard above the sink. "And if you ever need to speak to anyone Hermione, don't hesitate. maybe I may not be the best choice for a listening ear, but there's Molly and Ginny, Dumbledore…" he reeled off a list of people she wasn't going to confide in. she might talk to molly or Ginny at some point but right then there was only one person she wanted to speak to and she didn't see how that could happen.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 8

Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George had all listened to the adults' conversation the night after Hermione arrived. Their friend still lay unconscious as mad-eye and Tonks provided the other order members with details of their trip to Yaxley manor and what they had found there. The man who had called himself Liam was dead on the third floor of the house, stabbed repeatedly by the same knife that had been used on Hermione. From the front door all the way up to her bedroom there had been signs of a struggle, evidence that they she had put up a struggle. The library next to her room also possessed signs of violence.

The room had been destroyed in blood. It lay in puddles on the bedspread as well as seeped right through the mattress as well as in a large circle around the body of one of the most infamous death eaters to ever have evaded Azkaban. Some of the patches of blood on the floor were older than the others and the aurors, who had seen their share of crime scenes, were grieved to note that Hermione had been viciously attacked here more than once.

They found Hermione's mother in her own room. At first she had been terribly quiet and didn't appear to notice their presence at all, then all of a sudden exploded at them, screaming at the top of her lungs, throwing anything she could pick up and finally falling to her knees on the floor, wrenching sobs pouring from her. It was through these sobs that she had told them everything. Moody had recorded her speech with a silver little doo-dad that Dumbledore had given him years ago.

"There was nothing I could do" the woman cried. "What kind of a mother am I? I heard her screaming! I couldn't move. I couldn't save my baby, my only child. He would reappear covered in scratches…I did nothing. Nothing! She would be covered in bruises. She barely ate. I don't know what would have happened if she didn't have her dog. She told me to my face what that beast had done. I tried to fight it but I couldn't control myself. I couldn't even comfort her."

"Mrs. Granger, there wasn't anything you could have done." Tonks' voice came through the extendable ear after Mrs. Grangers. "Can you tell us about the dog?"

"She took to him immediately. Never went anywhere without him. Is he ok? The dog? I don't know what she would have done without him. She talked to him as though he was a person. I would watch from the window sometimes as she walked around outside with him. I think she would have gone mad without the company. I did this. I put her in harm's way, how can I live with myself? I shared a bed with that monster and was forced to enjoy sleeping with a man covered in scratches my daughter had made in an attempt to defend herself"

The group atop the stairs heard as the woman broke into fresh sobs. They heard a ruckus "that's when she tried to jump out the window" Alastor chipped in. "I can't listen to it anymore." Said Ginny. Her own eyes were red. She went down the stairs and out the front door. "Wow" said Fred. "Yeah" replied George. "Wow"

Harry and Ron remained silent. They looked at each other. They both wore the same looks of horror and guilt. Fred finally voiced what was on everyone's minds; "how could you guys have not known there was something wrong?" Ron went as red as his hair. Harry's heart sank. They handed the extendable ears to the twins and went to sit in Ginny's room, where Hermione was still unconscious.

She looked so frail, lying there, so small. Her bruises stood out against the plain white sheets. "It's all my fault" said Ron, his face still bright red. "I should have, I didn't even notice." He hung his head. Harry shook his. "It was my fault too. How could we not have seen? Or even guessed. I knew she wasn't herself in those letters I just knew it. I put it down to her being as secretive as you were. I thought she was hiding stuff about the order, like everyone else." Harry and Ron had replied to Hermione's first letters promptly with sympathy and in runs case; an invitation. They then received a few very vague replies and then nothing at all. The invitation was turned down and assurances were made that everything was fine.

They had both thought upon reading them that she didn't quite sound like herself. Harry, at this stage was so tense waiting for something to happen, and trying to forget his nightmares about Cedric that he had decided that all his friends had deserted him and had been consumed by bitterness towards those who kept information concerning the order of the phoenix for weeks. He now understood how self absorbed he had been. Ron had been much too absorbed with a different pen-pal to have given Hermione's uncharacteristically short letters much thought.

Harry grabbed fistfuls of his hair. "We let this happen Ron" Ron said nothing for a long time. He kept his head down. "I'm a git" he said finally. All these years I've liked her harry, you knew" harry nodded. "Well I've sort of been owling someone else lately. I guess I finally accepted nothing was going to happen between me and Mione and…I talked to her less, I sent her less letters." He cradled his head in his hands. "I want to kill him. Both of them." "We don't know yet if Sirius had anything-" harry began but Ron cut him off "are you mad harry! You heard what Mrs. Granger said. He was with her all the time. He slept in the same room! Who knows what kind of sick twisted-"

"That's enough Ron" harry interjected. "You'll wake her. They sat in silence then, each eaten by his own guilt. Every now and again she would stir and they sat up in anticipation, but she didn't wake until the next day.

The golden trio were together once more, but with a divide between them that had never before existed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer; same as previous**

**Chapter 9**

Hermione didn't leave her room for the next few days. Harry and Ron visited her often, though she didn't really have much to say to them. She didn't speak much to anyone. She slept a lot, or pretended to, feeling like if she went downstairs everybody would treat her differently. She wished that her time in Yaxley manor hadn't changed her in their eyes but it did. She was a victim, someone to treat with caution. She could see it in her visitor's eyes. They didn't know what to say or how to act and it killed her to think that maybe it was never going to go back to the way things were.

She thought about Sirius often, and would look out the window of the room she now shared with Ginny to see if she could spot him outside. Sometimes he walked by and her heart leapt in her chest to see him. The few days living on Molly's cooking had done him wonders and he no longer looked half starved. She hadn't eaten much since she arrived and knew he was thriving a lot better than she. Once he looked towards her window as she looked out at him him, as though he had sensed he was being watched and she quickly hid behind the curtain. What must he think of her?

Ginny tried to begin conversations that Hermione just couldn't carry. She knew that Ginny, like everyone else, pitied her. As the days wore on Hermione's sense of loneliness and depression grew until she no longer had the energy to get out of bed. Nightmares plagued her sleep and she awoke often to see Ginny looking up at her with tear filled eyes from the camp bed across the room. She tried to comfort her and Hermione was glad of her friend's obvious love for her but she couldn't get over the idea that not one of her friends had been there for her when she had really needed them. It wasn't their fault, she told herself and she didn't feel bitter about it, but instead wondered what it said about her. Ron had come flying to Harry's aid the summer after second year when he was locked in his room for weeks. She missed the comfort of fluffy, thinking of Sirius in his dog form helped to stay the blush that inevitably rushed to her cheeks when she remembered that her dearest friend was a grown man, one that she was realizing she felt things for she didn't yet truly understand.

For years she had held a secret warmth and attraction, maybe even love, for Ron. But lately when she saw him that feeling just wasn't there. Not anymore. When she thought of how things used to be with him, her mind inevitably strayed back to Sirius and her confusion over what she felt for him. Her logical brain tried to tell her it was probably a post traumatic experience, that, given time, she would no longer carry those feelings, but something else made her think that just maybe it was more than that, that perhaps she wouldn't just get over it.

But he was old enough to be her father, she reasoned with herself. There was no way that he saw her as anything more than a child.

Sirius walked around the garden often. At first he had hoped to meet her there, though he had no idea what he would say to her. He fought constantly with his feelings, determining that she was so much better off with anyone but him. He was no good for her; a wanted man, and an old one at that. What could he possibly offer her? Money? Yes. Security? No. The ministry was searching high and low for him. And yet he couldn't help himself hoping to run into her. To look down at her beautiful face again. To hear her read to him and to be able to have a proper conversation with her. She was well capable of carrying a point and he dreamed of a day when they could share a deep conversation about intelligent topics. She was so smart; Remus had described her as the smartest witch of her age. He thought that there was a good chance she was the cleverest witch of any age. More than anything he wished to see her smile again.

She didn't come down for mealtimes, or any other time of day that he could see. Molly was extremely worried about her not eating. Sirius had noted how little she had consumed back at Yaxley manor. He knew it would be a long time before she was back to her old self, if ever truly. What she had gone through was horrific to say the very least and he wouldn't wish it on his greatest of enemies. Harry and the two youngest Weasley children explained how miserable she seemed up there. The girl had tears in her eyes as she told them she couldn't persuade Hermione to open up to her. Remus advised them that she simply needed time. Sirius thought that maybe he knew what she might need.

After clearing it with a doubtful lot in the kitchen, Sirius went up the stairs. His heart raced as he contemplated seeing her for the first time in almost two weeks but he pushed those feelings down. She didn't need some old man fancying her. She needed a friend.

He knocked on her door and, after receiving no reply, opened it before transforming. She sat up in her bed as he entered the room, her beautiful chocolate eyes wide in surprise, then filling with tears. He thought for a moment that perhaps this had been the wrong move but she pushed away the blankets and made her way over to him, hugging his neck and burying her face in his fur. "Thank you" She whimpered. He nuzzled her shoulder like in the old days and she let go, leading him over to sit on the bed. He didn't hesitate, jumping up and sitting beside her. "I missed you" she whispered, petting his neck.

When Ginny entered the room a few hours later it was to find Hermione sound asleep in her bed, peaceful, her breathing normal. Sirius lay across her feet, his head between his paws. He got up and padded out of the room as Ginny stood there, gobsmacked at how much better her friend looked after only a few hours in his company.

Sirius had had an idea as he lay across the bottom of the bed. Hermione had fallen into a peaceful sleep an hour or so before, after telling him how much she missed their days spent together, and her darker thoughts. He was convinced she needed a change of scenery, though the tome they spent together that afternoon had brightened her up, he couldn't forget how haggard and simply haunted her face had been the other day when he had been out walking and had felt her eyes upon him. She had hid as soon as he had turned to see her but he had seen and he had felt a pang of sadness. She was no longer a prisoner yet she was not yet free. They were kindred spirits in a way perhaps that was why he was so drawn to her. He knew that that was only one of the reasons but again chastised himself for thinking of her in anyway more than a friend.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 10

Hermione felt better the next day, lighter somehow, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Her sleep had been dreamless and for that she was glad. Lately her sleep was plagued by terrifying nightmares. She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. After a long soak in the tub she felt fresh and revived. She got dressed and went down to the kitchen. After taking a deep breath she entered the crowded room and was met with welcoming smiles. Molly appeared before her with a plate overflowing with delicious food and she sat amongst her friends and ate with them. There was no awkward moments, no pitying glances and she knew who she had to thank for her coming back out into the world. She looked around the room for Sirius but he and Remus were not to be found there. After the meal she went outside for a walk. Harry and Ron offered to accompany her but she declined. They had eaten what seemed like a day's worth of food in one go and looked as though it would be a while before they were even able to rise up from their seats.

The garden was no more than an expanse of grass bordering on a small forest. Hermione walked about, staying close to the house, feeling exposed in the open terrain. Even though she knew that there was a fidelius charm protecting them from unwanted visitors, it was hard to shake off the feeling of being watched. At the back of the small cottage, away from the tents where it was closer to the woods she spotted Remus standing under the shadow of a nearby tree. He was deep in discussion with Sirius, who sat at its base looking up at his old friends. Whatever the topic was, it looked serious. Remus pushed his thinning hair out of his face in agitation and shook his head, before shrugging his shoulders. Sirius looked positively gloomy.

Eventually Lupin strolled back towards the house. He didn't seem to realise she was there until he nearly walked into her. "Oh sorry. He said, sounding distracted. "Hermione!" he realised who he was talking to "glad to see your up and out" his smile was genuine but his eyes told her he was holding back. They exchanged small talk for a few awkward moments before he excused himself and left. Bewildered, Hermione made her way over to where Sirius sat pulling up pieces of grass around him.

He leaned back against the tree, his light shirt showing off the lean muscles of his arms and his legs stretched out before him, his feet crossed. He squinted up at her as she approached. Her heart raced in her chest at the sight of him. She tried to reason with herself over her feelings for him, to understand them. Yes he was handsome Molly had cleaned up his hair a bit and he looked amazing. Of course she would think highly of him, he saved her. He literally saved her life. Surely what she was experiencing was a young girl's crush. She would grow out of it. Wouldn't she? It wasn't just his dashing looks that drew her to him though; it was the look in his blue-grey eyes when they met hers, a sort of electricity and heat that never failed to run through her body when she saw him now. That mixed with the comfort he brought her in his dog form and the kindness he had always shown her in the short time they had known each other. He was quite literally her knight in shining armour.

If anyone knew what it was to be trapped it was Sirius black. Was that it? Was that what made him so fascinating to her? The fact that they had both suffered? Or was there more to it? She knew realistically that he would never want her. She had heard the stories of when he was in school. He was a handsome, pureblood wizard. He could have anyone he wanted, why would he ever be interested in a bushy haired muggle born like her?

"I hope I'm not intruding" she said as she reached him. He indicated for her to sit across from him and she did, leaning back on a similar tree. "Never" he replied. The gloomy look was still there along with something she couldn't quite work out. Worry? Pain? It was hard to decipher and she found herself intrigued. "Are you feeling better?" he asked. She nodded. "Thank you. I'd still be up there if it wasn't for you" he shook his head. "It's nothing" he said. She wanted to tell him that no, it wasn't nothing, it was everything. That he meant more to her than she could ever express. That without him she would without a shadow of a doubt be dead.

"I don't think so" was all that came out. He smiled at her and her insides melted. "If you don't mind me asking, what were the two of you just talking about?" she asked, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing under his gaze. "Well the order needs a new location. We were discussing places for us to go. I suggested my family home. It's the least I can do to offer it. There are enough bedrooms to accommodate the Weasley's, harry, Lupin, myself and you. The only thing is that it's very old and probably more than a little decrepit by now and there's no garden. It is safe though." She knew he wasn't lying to her but it most definitely had not been all they were talking about. Deciding it was none of her business and that it would be rude to pursue the topic, she went along with all that he had said. "What's wrong with staying here?" she asked. He hesitated a moment before answering. "There simply isn't enough room here, and with winter on the way the tents are impractical. As well as that there's always the chance that Greyback finds us. He bit Remus in these woods you know?" she looked into the dark forest they sat on the edge of and shivered. Even though he clearly wasn't telling her the whole story, she had heard enough to convince her that they needed to move.

Sirius waited for Remus to meet him behind the house that morning. He chose to sit under the canopy of a nearby tree on the edge of the forest because it reminded him of the times he would sit out with Hermione, listening to her stories, her hopes and fears. It had been so long since anybody had trusted him, and for good reason. He didn't deserve her trust, he knew, but there was no way he ever wanted to break it.

Lupin walked out to meet him, his face full of concern for his troubled friend. He thought he could guess what it was Sirius wanted to tell him and he wasn't looking forward to talking about it. He was in a similar situation himself, though his was a lot less complicated, Tonks was older than Hermione granger, but still too young. He wouldn't be able to support her properly as he was unable to keep a job for more than a year and more than anything, he was too dangerous for her to be around. If teaching at Hogwarts had taught him anything it was that he couldn't be trusted around people. He had made one mistake, had forgotten his wolsfsbane once and had almost killed a group of children who were out after hours attempting to save the life of a hippogriff. If it hadn't been for Snape lurking about the grounds and Hermione's quick thinking...

He saw the shadows under his friend's eyes and knew that no matter how much molly fed him, he had a long way to go yet, and there was a lot on his mind. "What's up?" he asked trying to hide the fact that he had his own theories already. "I just can't get her out of my mind Mooney" Sirius looked up at his old friend. "Merlin knows I don't deserve her and there's no way she would even think of me the way I think of her but..." Lupin ran his hand through his hair. His suspicions had been correct but padfoot had not yet worked out that Hermione was besotted with him. Remus Lupin was certainly not going to be the man to tell him this. He hoped that if Sirius was never privy to that bit of information, he would get over this infatuation and Hermione would do the same. It was a vain hope, he knew, as he had never seen his friend this into any woman. In their school years, to refer to him as a ladies' man was an understatement. He had seemed to have a different girlfriend every week, from every house. This was another reason for him to be hesitant about the topic. What if Sirius told her how he felt only to change his mind? She seemed so fragile, had been so brutalised, that to get her hopes up over this seemed like the deepest form of cruelty if they ended up dashed. Beyond that she was young, so young.

"How do you do it?" padfoot asked, breaking into his reverie. "What?" he replied "stay away from Tonks? I know your just as lost on her as she is on you." Lupin shrugged. "I'm not good enough." Was his reply. And deep down he knew that was true. Neither of them were. Sure they fought for the right side, but they were battle scarred, old. They were about to fight in their second war and would only risk the lives of those they loved if they let them in, and he did love Tonks. She lit up his gloomy existence and he wanted nothing more than to try to make her happy, but how could he possibly do that?

"Anyway we've decided to take you up on your offer. Your parent's house sounds like just what we need. We can't stay here much longer with the order growing and the winter coming, and we can't go back to the burrow, it's being watched." Padfoot nodded. "You never thought you'd go back there did you?" Mooney asked, knowing it was a place that Sirius had spent much of his early life planning to get away from. "I havent seen the place since I was sixteen. Merlin knows what it looks like now. I'll miss your garden though." He said and he thought of how hard it would be to avoid Hermione there. Not that he had tried to avoid her here, yet. If he was to follow Lupins advice though...and Lupin certainly avoided Sirius' little cousin like the plague. The poor girl was infatuated. Lupin went then and he was left to think about all the narrow hallways in his old house and the likelihood of bumping into her at every turn. Her safety was worth it though and as bad as Yaxley was, it would be so much worse if Greyback got a hold of her.

By offering his old home he hoped to prove to the order, and to her that he could be useful. Would it be enough?

He heard her approach and looked up to see the beautiful chocolate eyes peering down at him. She smiled and he thought he had never seen anything so beautiful.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 11

They apparated to their new home in twos and threes. Molly brought Hermione and Ginny along with her after Sirius took harry and Ron. Grimmauld Place was aptly named; it was indeed one of the grimmest looking places Hermione had ever seen. Dust exploded from the carpets as the group walked through the halls and they had to brush cobwebs aside as they walked. Sirius led the way, after rushing forth to shut up the portrait of his mother, who seemed to have been a very unpleasant woman.

Hermione and Ginny were assigned a room on the same landing as harry and Ron, and Fred and George. Molly gave them enough time to put their things into their rooms before assigning them each jobs. Hermione was happy to find that she wasn't left out of this. The hard labour was a happy reprieve from her cluttered thoughts, and she put all her concentration into the cleaning, washing, brushing and polishing she was assigned to.

The cleaning also gave her something to talk about with the others, listening to Ron complain and laughing along with the others when some pixies snuck out from their hiding place in a sofa in one of the living rooms and tipped Ron's bucket of water over his head. She ate with the rest of them that night, and even joined in some of the conversation. At one point during the meal she caught Sirius' eyes upon her but as soon as she noticed, he looked away. He made no attempt to join in with the conversation she was having with Remus about elf rights, a cause she had spoken to him about more than once at Yaxley manor. He was deep in conversation with harry, who was telling him all about their adventures over the years and what it had been like to grow up under the Dursleys' roof. Sirius' face turned hard as harry described the Dursleys, and how he had been treated by them over the years. Hermione loved how vulnerable his face looked when he tentatively asked Harry to live with him once his name was cleared, and the look of joy he bore when harry hugged him.

She was happy for him. He finally had a chance to honour his best friends memory and it already looked like he and harry would get on like a house elf on fire. She had never liked that term.

As the days passed her newfound happiness faded. She still felt satisfaction from the cleaning, it kept her busy and didn't give her a whole lot of time to think, but then came the night-time. As Ginny slept happily in the bed across the room from her, Hermione tossed and turned night after night, sleep always evading her. She found her mind running over everything that had occurred over the summer and all the old feelings of abandonment and terror washed over her again and again. She felt that she knew what was triggering it. Sirius was ignoring her.

Hermione didn't think for one second that she would ever have been important enough for him to spend a lot of time thinking about, but she knew what it was to be avoided, and he was good at it. When she walked into a room he managed to always somehow disappear into it. At mealtimes he sat as far away from her as possible and he no longer met her eyes anymore.

She was anxious about it, worrying that she had done or said something to offend him that he felt bitter about moving there because of her. The conversation the teens overheard a few days after moving to Grimmauld place seemed to validate that theory. Snape arrived at the house and said he needed to debrief the order. Hermione had never seen him at lupines place, and judging by the reception he got from Sirius, neither had he.

"What the bollocking hell is he doing here?" Was Sirius' opening statement, to which Snape replied, "That's no way to address your superiors Black. I have important information to pass on."

"Well why don't you tell Dumbledore? I see no reason for you to be here, making the place seem even drearier than it is now." Snape sneered at his old rival. His reply was cut off by Remus asking him to simply share what he knew. Snape went on to tell the gathering in the kitchen that Lupins place had been found and ransacked, that Greyback had been the one in charge of the invading party.

Sirius had then quite calmly asked Snape a question. It was something that Hermione herself had wondered at when she found out that Snape was part of the order and that he was acting as a spy in Voldemort's camp; "if you and old moldy are so pally, why didn't you know about Hermione's abduction?" Snape answered with a simple, "I'm not briefed on every plan the dark lord concocts."

"It seems to me that kidnapping harry potters best friend and torturing them for information would be quite a big operation. Why wouldn't he trust you with such plans? Is he onto you? Or are you just too low on the ladder to be let in on such things? Either way I see no reason why you should even be in the order."

Snape bristled at this. "The kidnapping of one little girl is nothing. There are bigger plans, bigger fish to fry."

That set Sirius off. They no longer needed the extendable ears to hear the ruckus taking place downstairs. "One little girl!" Sirius was shouting. "Have you no heart! No compassion!" There was the sound of spells hitting china and then silence. The door opened and Snape swooped out into the hall looking dishevelled. A few moments later Sirius emerged looking furious. He entered a living room off the hallway and slammed the door shut after them. Fred rolled up the extendable ears and Ron and George followed him to the twins' room, discussing what they had just heard. Ginny stayed beside Hermione, her hand on her back and harry stood to her other side, he looked as furious as Sirius after what they had heard. "You ok Mione?" he asked once he stopped gritting his teeth and had unballed his fists. She nodded in reply and told them to follow the others. She needed to find out why he was avoiding her.

He was sitting with his back to the door looking at the back wall of the room, which was completely covered by a tapestry. "My family tree" he said by way of greeting as she stood beside him. "The day I was burned off it was the happiest of my life. I had run away to live with the potters. My mother wasn't thrilled." Hermione studied the names and faces, it seemed as though every pure blood family left were related somehow.

"Sirius?" she asked, sitting across beside him in a similar chair. She wanted so badly to reach out and push back the hair falling into his eyes, but stopped herself. He looked up at her and a silent communication passed between them, before he dropped eye contact and his face became neutral, vague. "You really hate it here don't you?" she asked. "Yes" he replied without hesitation. "I never thought I'd be back. So many memories." His gaze drifted then and she knew he wasn't looking at her anymore, but into the past. She took the chance to take him in. the thought of not seeing him until Christmas break terrified her, they had received their Hogwarts letters by then and it was only a matter of days before she would have to leave.

He stood and walked towards the tapestry. She followed, drawn to him. "That was me" he pointed to a burn mark. "And there's Yaxley" Hermione shuddered at the name and the image of her attacker on the wall before her. She took a step back and almost fell. Sirius caught her just in time and hauled her back to her feet. She felt her face flushing and didn't meet his eyes for a moment though she could feel his upon her. When she did meet his gaze it was intense. He took a step towards her. "I'm sorry I just blurted that out Hermione. I'm an arse. She laughed despite herself. "It's fine." She replied, feeling flustered by his proximity. It was then that he reached out. She thought that he might touch her face, but he pushed a curl back behind her ear. He looked down at her, his eyes turning suddenly soft. Lost in the moment, she took a step closer to him. The bubble they were in burst, his expression became unreadable and he left the room in a hurry, muttering something about finding kreacher.

Hermione blinked back hot tears as she walked back up to her room. She was so confused. He must hate her for making him come back to a place he abhorred. Was that why he had been in such a rush to leave? Why he couldn't bear to be in the same room as him? She cried herself to sleep, curled in a ball beneath her covers that night.

"mum come quick, please its Hermione" the little redheads voice woke him in the middle of the night, quick as a flash he was up the stairs beside the two women as they went back to the girls room.

It was a mess, Hermione was curled up in the corner of the room, her hair was a bird's nest and there was blood on the front of her pyjama top and dripping down her chin from where she had bitten her lip viscously, she was clearly shaking.

The bedclothes were strewn all over the room and there was broken glass on the floor, as a result of being knocked off of the bedside table. "Oh you poor dear" said Mrs. Weasley, rushing to Hermione, but Sirius was already there, in his dog form, curled up next to her.

Hermione reached out and buried her hand in the fur on his neck like she used to, before hugging him tightly. "Fluffy." She mumbled, clearly still asleep. Molly busied herself cleaning up the room with flicks of her wand, she also fixed the broken glass and refilled it with water and tended to Hermione's bleeding lip.

They waited until Hermione was breathing deeply, and Sirius turned back. He carried her to the bed, placing her in it as gently as was physically possible before tucking her in. he pushed a curl behind her ear and stood back, feeling molly's eyes on him. "There now" she said when the two of them were out in the hall. Ginny had since gone back to sleep. "All better. Would you like a cup of tea Sirius?" he nodded knowing the woman would not take no for an answer.

He followed her down to the kitchen. The blinds were up and the sunrise filtered in unhindered.

"We owe you a lot Sirius, for helping our little Hermione." said molly. "I just wanted to thank you. I…I see that girl as one of my own. Her and harry. We love them dearly and" tears filled her eyes now. She took a sip of her tea and sat back. "Thank you" he nodded, not knowing what to say to this.

Remus entered the room then, the last night of that month's torture over for him. He looked awful, but was smiling.

Remus smiled. "I couldn't help but hear her little rampage. Ginny must have gotten a fright. Did you turn?" Sirius nodded. He knew what was coming next from the smirk on his old friends face. "Did I hear her calling you fluffy?" Remus headed to bed after finishing his tea, looking exhausted.

Sirius waited, accepting another cup, knowing instinctively that molly wasn't finished. She seemed deep in thought for a moment before looking out at the slowly lightening morning sky. "You're good for her" she said finally. "I'm good for nothing" he replied quickly, not liking where this was going. "Don't say that Sirius. You're a good man" "I'm an old man."

She snorted. "You sound like Remus" she said. "He knew what she meant by that statement but Tonks was older than Hermione. I've said what I think. Of course I'm implying way down the line. She needs you right now Sirius. But someday, someday she won't need you there anymore." He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the idea scaring him. "Someday she will want you there." he looked up at her sharply, that was unexpected, especially coming from molly.

They spoke no more of it. Sirius got up and helped her to prepare breakfast before taking his up to his room and eating it alone, listening to the inhabitants of the house rising and chatting cheerily to one another as they met in the hallways. Kreacher walked by his room muttering to himself about the filth that marred his mistress's honourable home. When he spoke about Hermione's presence, and her heritage, which seemed to be every second sentence, Sirius wanted nothing more than to strangle the nasty little menace.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 12

Hermione was embarrassed the next day. Ginny had told her everything as all she could remember was having another horrifying nightmare. It seemed that the more indifferent Sirius became, the worse she felt and the worse the nightmares got. Ginny teased her lightly about him and she couldn't help but blush. The youngest Weasley had always been one of Hermione's closest friends and she had confided in her about her feelings for Ron just as much as Ginny had confided in her about harry. They were not at that moment as close as they had been, and Hermione sincerely hoped that, given time, they would be close once more, so she told her.

"I'm I crazy to have a crush on him?" she asked after finishing her tale, letting Ginny in on just how much Sirius had been there for her in the form of fluffy. It was a moment before Ginny replied. "Hell no, he's gorgeous I dare any woman not to like the man, but Hermione I don't think this is a mere crush do you?"

She admitted to her only girlfriend that she wasn't sure how deep her affection was for the man. "It's understandable that you're mixed up over it but seriously, I think you're in love with him Mione. And I'm very mistaken if he doesn't feel the same way." Hermione objected to this. Sirius black was so handsome; he could have any women, and had in the years before the war. She had no chance, and anyway, she wasn't sure if she would ever be ready to have a proper relationship with anyone after what had happened. And once his name was cleared he would have no reason whatsoever to want to wait for her. Ginny snorted as she rambled on, giving each reason why he would never want her. "I'm too young, I'm plain, he's so out of my league, he wants a woman not a little girl." she spoke the last few words in an impression of Snape. "That's a load of hippogriff dung and you know it. I've seen the way he looks at you"

"That's just it Ginny. He never looks at me anymore. He avoids me like the plague, probably because he knows I have a crush on him and he wants to keep his distance without having to sit me down and explain himself why he would never go out with me. Imagine how humiliating that would be Ginny. He's old enough to be my father and I don't care. I'm so drawn to him. I…"

Ginny smiled, victorious. "There you have it, you do love him. I know that would be embarrassing but that's not going to happen is it. And do you know why? Because he has feelings for you too!" they looked up at the ceiling above automatically as a loud noise emanated through the floorboards. "Kreacher must be in a mood." Said Ginny.

Sirius sat in his room. He had overheard bits of everyone's conversation as he walked up to the bedroom he had owned till he was sixteen. Molly and Arthur were talking about making their money stretch on the trip to Diagon alley they were taking the next day. Harry and Ron were having a shouting match with his uncle's portrait; Fred and George were planning what to do with money they had gotten from some mysterious investor. When he passed her room her heard his name. His heart pounding he froze outside the door to hear her voice as she said; "he's old enough to be my father." After that he moved on up the next flight of stairs. He closed the door and locked it behind him before slamming his fist against it.

Everything was so familiar; the posters, the Gryffindor flags. This had once been the one room in the whole house that he could escape to.

He was doing the same thing now, escaping, running away. Accept this time he wasn't running from his mother's sharp tongue, or his father's ever present look of disappointment. He wasn't hiding from the glares or snide comments of his family, or the beatings he was hiding from, _go on think it_, the woman he loved.

She had moved closer to him, expectantly, her eyes full of trust. She smelled so wonderful, like lavender soap. The sun streaming in through the window creating a halo like affect on her beautiful mass of light brown curls. He had never before seen anything more stunning, more perfect.

He had wanted nothing more than to close the remaining distance between them. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and show her that she would always be safe with him; he would have kissed her and held her. But then he glanced at the tapestry.

And he saw it. Plain as day. If there wasn't a permanent sticking charm on the thing he would have ripped it to shreds then and there. But what could he do. She would never want an old ex con like him. With relatives like his how could he ever be good enough for her. How could she ever love someone who was related to the person who had hurt her? The person who had stolen her innocence?

And so he sat in his room for the rest of the day, hiding from the world as she had done in Remus' house. His thoughts never too far from the fact that it had been her who moved. And then what she had said. He wallowed in his thoughts for hours. Why was he so disappointed? As if he had ever actually had a chance with someone so good, so warm. So unlike himself.

Voices called for him to come for lunch, and then for dinner, but he ignored them.

Remus came knocking on his door. He let him in. they reminisced together about the old days. _The old days are all you have. You have no future._Remus was having lady troubles of his own. He had had to turn Tonks down again and was becoming concerned about how hard she had taken it. The last thing he wanted was to hurt her, but in his eyes it was all he would do if he ever just let himself be happy.

He couldn't help but compare their situations. Remus' view was that he was too old and too poor for Tonks to ever be happy with him. That he was too dangerous. Hermione was younger than Tonks, and Sirius was a lot richer than Remus. It was a coincidence that he could not ignore. But she didn't want him, never would. She would never be happy with him. Hermione was not a woman who would marry for money, and what else did he have to give? Sirius sat by the murky window. Remus leaned against the desk.

They had laughed over the childish drawings strewn there, and the scraps of summer homework that had never made it to Hogwarts. "Sirius." said Remus. "Its pretty clear that she feels the same as you do." Sirius grunted his eyes out on the road. "Nope. I'm afraid not old friend."

He had always hated the view from the house, but it was the closest thing he was going to get to freedom for a long time, staring out at the dreary scene.

"I know there is nothing I can say without sounding hypocritical, I can have no opinion over your situation padfoot. Just know that whatever you do decide, I'll try to approve. And for the love of god take good care of her, she has been through hell as you well know. Friend or no friend I won't be able to hold off the lynch mob if you hurt her."

Sirius pressed his forehead against the cool glass once more. "I could never hurt her Mooney, but you needn't worry. I heard her tell the red head I'm too old." Remus surprised him then. "So show her she's wrong. You and I may be the same age, padfoot, but never forget just how immature you really are."

He went on to ask if Sirius would come down with him to the kitchen. He declined the offer and shut the door after his friend. He then proceeded to wreck his room. The only place he had had before the age of sixteen besides Hogwarts that had meant anything to him, to his identity. Because it was no longer a safe haven it no longer held the same meaning, because now there was her. She was home. And he was out in the wilderness, cold and alone without her.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 13

The Weasley's, harry and Hermione went shopping in Diagon alley for their school supplies a week before the beginning of term. It was a pleasant feeling to be out of the house for the day, though Sirius was never too far from her thoughts; she embraced the feeling of normalcy she got from being part of a throng of people in the busy streets like any other shopper. She felt more comfortable being classed as Harry Potter's friend rather than the alternative.

Ron was still a little uncomfortable around her, though that eased when she helped him pick out a little charm bracelet for his mystery girlfriend. She could honestly say that any romantic feelings she once held for him were gone. Pretty soon she, harry and Ron were laughing and joking like old times. Molly never let them out of her sight for the day and she knew that other order members were around. She hoped the kindly woman would relax a little once they were safely tucked away at Hogwarts.

Hermione was happy to see that Sirius had left his room when they got back and though he looked up at her when she entered the room that unreadable expression from the other day was still there. He spent the rest of the day with harry, there was no surprise there, as he was his godfather and they had a lot to talk about and get sorted out. There was an empty feeling in her chest as she contemplated the months she would spend away from him and the calming affect he had on her at night when the nightmares came. Since the first episode it had become an almost nightly occurrence and though she felt bad that Ginny was losing as much sleep over it as she was, she was nervous about handling it on her own at school.

The morning they left was bright and cloudless. She hadn't seen much of Sirius apart from when he came to her in his dog form to calm her down at night. She longed for him to show her some sign that it wasn't just that. That he truly cared for her and didn't allow her to cling to him in order to assuage his guilt. Wondering what he was thinking became an obsession. Did he care for her as more than a friend? Was Ginny correct in her assumptions? Or was that a vain hope? Was it wrong for her to want more? To hope?

She looked down at him as they entered the station. He was trotting along beside harry. She wanted to sink her hand into the fur on his neck, as she had done on countless occasions before, but knew she shouldn't. On the platform Hermione was pulled into a tight hug from Mrs. Weasley. "thank you so much" she whispered to the plump woman, who replied by holding her even tighter for a moment before letting her go and taking a handkerchief out of her bag, dabbing at her eyes.

Hermione said goodbye to everyone else in turn, before looking down at Sirius. "Thank you fluffy" she whispered, knowing he would hear her. He nudged her leg just like he used to and she felt the tears spill out onto her cheeks. The trains whistle blew and she Harry, Ron, Ginny, Fred and George hopped on, finding compartments and settling in for the long journey.

Nobody bothered Hermione as she sat by the window watching the scenery fly by, and allowing the tears to flow freely onto the sill.

Hermione threw herself into her school work. It was the only thing that distracted her from thinking about him, and besides, it was what she was good at. Outrage and plotting against Delores Umbridge also helped a great deal. All in all, her first term back at Hogwarts was shaping up to be a good one. The answer to her worry over her night terrors came in the form of a very helpful sleeping draught given to her by madam Pomfrey, who Dumbledore had filled in about what had happened and who offered her a sympathetic ear if ever she should need one. The draughts gave her the gift of a peaceful, dreamless sleep and without it she was sure she would have been lost, but they came with a warning from the nurse; "don't rely on quick fixes dear. Sooner or later you'll have to face your fears and play them out" Hermione wasn't sure she would ever feel up to that but thankfully she was assured that the potions were there until she herself decided she could do without them.

Due to the ministry cover ups and the orders secretive ways, no one who didn't have family or friends in the order knew about what had happened over the summer, apart from Luna of course, who always seemed to know these things, and wanted Hermione to write an article about it for the quibbler.

Hermione had the feeling that some of the slytherins knew, from the looks she caught some of them giving her every now and again. She ignored this, knowing that a reaction would be what they were looking for. Her suspicions were proven true one day as she sat in the library, doing research for a charms essay she had to have finished for the week after. "Have a fun holiday mudblood?" a voice she recognised instantly spoke from behind her. She didn't turn or reply knowing exactly who it was and his lust for attention. Not reacting was the best resort when it came from Draco Malfoy. She kept her cool, calm façade up. But inside her mind was reeling with dragged up images. "I'm talking to you mudblood" he said a little louder now.

She could see out of the corner of her eye that there was a group of slytherins cluttered around where she was sitting. Draco did always love an audience. "From what I heard, you got put in your place." She turned the page in her book. "As my father has always said, muggles and mudbloods, like Granger, deserve to be put in their rightful place." He leaned in close to her ear now and she had to fight the urge to swat him away as he whispered in what he must have thought was a seductive tone. "Beneath us"

There was nothing she would have loved more at that moment than to pick up her heavy book and swing it at him. But instead, keeping her face neutral, she packed up her things and left. Hermione could hear Malfoys laugh in her mind the whole way back to the common room. She sat beside Harry on a comfortable sofa by the fire. Ron was in a shaded corner of the room, in deep conversation with lavender Brown. Hermione noticed the bracelet on the other girls' wrist. Harry saw her looking. "Are you alright Mione?" he said thinking that the scene in the corner was what had her shaking. She smiled back at him. "Yes I'm fine" "it's just I know that you…" "Not anymore Harry" she said. "Not for a while now" he looked relieved. "Oh ok, so why do you look so upset?" "I'm ok. I just had a run in with Malfoy. Same old stuff. Some things never change I suppose." "The git." said harry after that the conversation turned to different subjects. Hermione noticed the strange markings on his hand for one thing.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 14

Sirius was mind numbingly bored. He spent most of his days throwing stuff away. Stuff that his family had considered priceless. It gave him a real sense of satisfaction at times, before the feeling of being trapped in this hell hole returned. He wandered the house like a ghost, hating all the memories each room was filled with and the anger that accompanied them. He remembered all the times his mother berated him for not being like his brother, for being unnatural, a freak. She saw his friendship with blood traitors, mudbloods and werewolves as a weakness, a flaw in his character that made him unworthy of his heritage; he saw it as his redeeming feature. He remembered every put down, every beating he received from his otherwise inattentive father. They had been convinced that the "sickness" could be beaten out of him. Once he was old enough to fight back it had stopped for good and he was ignored, treated with glares and neglect. The day he had escaped the place was one of the happiest of his life. Being cooped up in that house again reinforced his hatred of every value his family held dear.

Remus was his connection to reality. He interrupted his brooding and reminded him of the good days. His thoughts of _her _gave him hope of the future for brief moments until the reality that they could never be hit him and he would once more spiral into dark thoughts. He consoled himself with visions of the house he would buy for himself and harry, in the country somewhere. There would be loads of space where he could live out the rest of his days a free man. Would he have a future without her? Could he? At least she was safe in school. And someday she would find someone her own age that deserved her. Maybe Ron would be the one? He knew there had been feelings there, she had told him, but was that still the case? Could she ever truly forgive her friends for not coming through when she needed them? Could she ever forgive him? And so it would come full circle again and he would be lost in his dark thoughts until Mooney once more knocked him into the present.

Some days he would just sit in his bedroom, feeling as though he had escaped from one prison and entered another. He missed her terribly. It was as though when she left, so too did a part of him. He counted down the days until Christmas, when he would see her again. Countless times he began writing to her. But each letter ended up in the fire. On the whole it was turning out to a rather miserable first term. He wrote to harry of course. He hadn't been reunited with the boy for long, but they were already close. Many times he asked how she was doing. Harry reported that she was well, back at the top of all their classes and seeming happy. He was glad that one of them was.

He hoped one day for the boy to be able to rely on him, to be a sort of father figure for him. "_And to be with his best friend"_Said the niggling little voice in his head. After that he went back to moping around the house he hated, like a ghost without unfinished business. Except he had a purpose. He was going to make the world safe for her, at least from Voldemort and his followers. Sirius Black was going to make sure that no beast ever hurt her again, even if he had to kill them all himself


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer; same as previous**

**Chapter 15**

Hermione walked down a darkened hallway. Her footsteps echoed loudly on the hardwood floor and though she did her best to tread softly, as she did every night, it was to no avail. Each step echoed the frantic thumping of her heart. She passed door after door on either side but didn't enter any of them. It was the door at the end of the hall that held her focus. She had to open it, though it was the last thing she wanted to do. Like every other time, she fought the pull of the door, the thrall it had on her but there was no way, short of waking up, that she was going to escape this. She reached the end of the hallway and placed her hand on the doorknob. She turned it slowly and the door shot open as though blown in by a strong wind.

The scene she was met with was one she was used to seeing by now. She walked into the room and looked down upon herself lying in the bed, completely naked with the hilt of a knife sticking out of her abdomen. She watched her past self try to fight off a fully grown man many times stronger than herself, watched him rape her. In this version of the past, Sirius never burst into the room, never saved her. She was forced to stand there and watch as she was brutally raped and left to die. Yaxley never stayed long enough to see the light go out in her eyes but Hermione saw it. She was forced to see it every night, unless she took madam Pomfrey potion or unless Sirius was there to soothe her into a dreamless sleep.

Suddenly she was able to look away from her own contorted face upon the bed and back out into the hallway. There was a warm light shining down from an open door at the other end of the long hardwood floor. Hermione walked towards it, her arm extended towards it, the grey dress she wore moving in the breeze that filtered from the mysterious light.

She reached it wand walked out into a beautiful sunlit garden. Butterflies danced from flower to flower and the warm breeze kissed her skin. She looked over to a towering willow tree and sure enough, standing beneath its weeping branches was _him._ Her heart beat quickly again but not from fear this time, not from dread, but something else entirely. He looked amazing in dress robes, his hair tamed and his face shaven. He looked at her with such adoration and as she walked to him she noticed her reflection in a stream that appeared out of thin air. Her long dull grey dress was replaced with the floaty pink one she wore to the Yule ball, her hair, unlike that night; lay down her back in loose curls. What drew her in though were her eyes. The haunted, wary look was gone and they shone with her love for the man before her, she looked and felt as good as she had ever done but different, the difference was, she was sure, the maturity she had gained in the past few weeks along with all she had lost and the love she held inside for _him. _

She finally reached him and couldn't help but reach out to touch his face. He did the same, running the tips of his fingers along her cheek and jaw. His grey eyes mirrored her look of fascination. "I love you" she said. "Sirius" he smiled down at her, cupping her face with his hands. "I love you too" he replied. He lowered his face to hers and she closed her eyes, waiting for his lips to touch hers, but it never happened. She opened her eyes and found herself alone in her bed at Grimmauld place. The sound of Ginny's deep breathing brought her back to the present and she sighed as she realised that it was all a dream. Sirius must have carried her up to her bed after calming her down from yet another nightmare. Was he sick of having to save her yet? She wondered before closing her eyes again and drifting off.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 16

Sirius was sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee when Hermione entered. Everyone else had gone to see Arthur in the hospital. Mrs Weasley said it would have been a shame to wake the girl as she looked so peaceful for once. He had been careful not to wake her the night before as he carried her to bed. The sitting room had grown cold and he had woken to find her shivering beside him on the floor. He wanted nothing more than to lie beside her until she woke up but didn't want her to catch a cold. As she bustled into the kitchen in her pyjamas he didn't think he had ever seen her looking better. She smiled at him and asked if he had slept well. He replied that he slept like an old dog by the fire. The blush that rose on her cheeks told him she knew he had found her there. Did she remember telling him she loved him? That question had kept him awake all night.

She sat down across from him and he got up and poured her a cup. She accepted it gratefully and sipped the hot strong liquid, her lips making a perfect "o" as she cooled it with her breath before each sip.

Hermione wanted nothing more than to sit there making small talk with him all day. Maybe one of them would eventually broach the subject of what happened the night before. She remembered the dream and blushed for the second time that morning, hoping he wouldn't notice how flustered she felt around him. He wore a long sleeved t-shirt that clung to him and looked as though he had slept in it. His trousers were creased and she noticed when he got her a cup of coffee that he was barefoot. Sadly she couldn't keep observing him all day, though she knew she'd never get bored of the occupation. She needed to find a potions book and some materials in order to make a batch of the sleeping draught madam Pomfrey gave her in Hogwarts. She asked him about the things she would need and he told her about a room on the second floor that hadn't yet been dealt with. He offered to help her and she agreed wholeheartedly. They split up on the stairs, he going to his room to change and her to the room to get started with her hunting mission.

As she worked, looking through shelves and cupboards in the dusty room, she criticised herself over openly staring at him. "What must he think of me?" she chastised herself "staring at him like a stalker. Why in Merlins name would he ever want me?" she knew that once his name was cleared he could have any witch he wanted. He was so handsome. Her mind wandered back to the way his shirt had clung to him. She shook her head. Hermione knew she was no great beauty. Pretty maybe, but never beautiful. She believed her figure was boyish, especially since she hadn't yet put back on all of the weight she had lost over the summer. And then there was her hair. It would take a lot of work for it to look as good as it had in the dream. She caught her reflection in a floor length mirror that hung on the wall. She stared at it, looking herself over. Her eyes wandered from her feet right up to the top of her head, taking in every flaw. She was so immersed in this that she didn't realise she wasn't alone until she caught site of the man standing behind her from the reflection in the mirror. His face was in shadow and she couldn't make out any of his features.

"Sirius?" there was no answer. The figure moved closer and she no longer thought it could be him. She stood rooted to the spot, unable to turn around and face him because he moved out of the shadows. It was Liam. She didn't think of him as Yaxley. She began to hyperventilate, ever muscle in her body screaming at her to run but she couldn't move an inch. He moved closer and she wanted to call out but her voice died in her throat. Would he even hear her from his room? Liam's arms hung at his sides, in one hand his wand hung loose, tapping against his leg, and in the other he gripped a knife. The knife. She knew it because she saw it almost every night in her dreams. Her eyes filled with tears and her heart beat fast with real fear. She couldn't seem to catch her breath and felt sweat roll down her brow.

He was so close now. She felt his breath on the back of her neck. An arm wound round her waist though she no longer saw the wand. Liam raised his knife arm and aimed for the centre of her back, his face a mask of hate. Just before he served the killing blow, she was ripped away from where she stood, a hand covering her eyes and the arm wrapped around her waist pulling her into the air.

She landed on the ground beside her saviour, the motion knocking his hand from her eyes. Sirius got up immediately and pulled her out of the room. He slammed the door and turned to her "are you alright Hermione?" his voice was sharp with worry. "He's in there Sirius" she screamed, panic clouding her every thought. She scrambled for her wand in the pocket of her pyjamas and pointed it at the door. "He's in there!" why was he asking her was she ok while a murdering rapist death eater was in the next room and not pointing his own wand at the door that could be pulled open at any second.

"No. it's not him Hermione. It's not really him. That was a cursed mirror, Hermione. It shows you your fears, like a Bogart, except any harm that comes to you in the mirror really happens." He looked her over, searching for any visible wounds. "Did he hurt you." she stared at him blankly. "Hermione did he hurt you?" he grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her. Startled back into the present she shook her head, fat tears rolling down her face. She fell to her knees and absently heard her wand roll across the floor.

He knelt in front of her and cupped her face in his hands, staring into her eyes with his beautiful grey orbs. "It's ok Hermione, you're alright now. He can't hurt you anymore. It's ok, I'm here." He whispered to her, willing her to believe him. "You saved me" she said. "You saved my life. Again." he was about to say something in return but she didn't give him the chance. Instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

Sirius froze, but then relaxed, his arm again wrapping around her waist, his free hand cupping the back of her head. Then he was kissing her back. When the kiss was over Sirius pulled her into a hug. "I love you" Hermione whispered. He held her tighter for a second. "I know." He replied. "I love you too." Then he kissed her again. It seemed like hours before they got to their feet again and Sirius led her to the living room closest to the kitchen. He made her wait on the couch while he disappeared into the kitchen, returning with tea and bars of chocolate, explaining how Remus would kill him if he didn't give her chocolate after the shock she had had. He sat beside her and held her close to him as they wondered about the future. "Sirius I don't care what the world thinks of us being together" she said. "I love you, others' opinions don't matter" he kissed her hand. "You don't mind being with an old con like me?" she shook her head. "You're not that old, and you're innocent" he chuckled. "I'm old enough to be your father" she noticed the shadow that crossed his face as he said it and the way he picked at the cushion beside him. "I don't care Sirius. Love has no age, gender or religion." He smiled down at her for a moment but then turned serious again. "There will always be people who'll judge you and look down on you for being with me." It was her turn to chuckle. "I'm a muggle born Sirius, I'm used to it"

Eventually they decided to inform only those in the order and only when the time was right. Remus knew as soon as he looked at them of course, and Molly had a twinkle in her eye as she took in the expression on Sirius' face. They would deal with the rest of the world once she was finished school. Sirius also assured her that he didn't expect anything physical from the relationship until she was 100% sure she was ready. They both knew that that day was a distant one but it didn't matter.

As far as they knew, they had all the time in the world…


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 17

Hermione breezed through her exams; she had spent even more time than usual studying this year and had had to ask for three extra rolls of parchment instead of her normal two. Her practices had gone better than expected too, especially DADA which she had been nervous about, but thanks to the DA she was able to master the required spells and more. She was in a great mood despite the shadow of oncoming war that hung over the people in the know, she was in love and for the first time in what seemed like a long time, she was happy.

Her good mood was shattered towards the end of their history of magic exam. She had noticed harry sleeping during the test and hadn't thought much of it, near him; Ron chewed on his quill, not noticing the ink that stained his lips and chin.

Then harry began to writhe and shout. It was clear to her and Ron what was happening. He was seeing something. Cold dread ran down her spine and she handed up her test before following the boys out.

Harry had had a vision. Sirius was in trouble. Hermione felt a jolt of pure panic run through her whole body as harry said the words "Voldemort has him" she tried not to imagine the suffering Sirius would be going through if he was indeed in the hands of the death eaters. Harry was positive though, and so, that night he Hermione, Ron Ginny Luna and Neville set off for the ministry, where harry was sure he was being held captive. She prayed the whole way there that he was alive, that they weren't too late. It was her turn to save him and if she didn't achieve that goal she knew she would never forgive herself.

The past few weeks had been the happiest of her life. She and Sirius exchanged letters often. They used code and she always referred to him as fluffy which never ceased to make her smile. She took a mental list of the reasons she loved him; his wit and charm, the kindness and sincerity behind a rugged exterior. How he cared more for others' suffering more than his own, the way he looked at her with those grey/ blue eyes; as though there was nobody else in the world. He was the perfect gentleman, despite his ladies man past. There was no pressure from him whatsoever, unlike Krum, who was handsy to say the least. Hermione lost count of his attributes before they flew over London. "Please let him be ok. Please please let him be alright"

How would she live with herself if he was dead? There were so many things they never got to do together, even simple things like going for a walk side by side out in the open with him in his human form. It couldn't end like this. She wasn't going to allow it.

When they got to the ministry and discovered it was all a trap she couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Even though she herself was in mortal danger, he was safe. There was a tense moment while harry and Lucius Malfoy exchanged threats before all hell broke loose. Jets of light filled the room as they fought and ran from the death eaters. The group made it out into the circular room of doors and split up. Hermione entered a room on her own that was completely empty. She cursed as she realised there was nowhere to hide. The door swung open and she prepared for the fight that was to come. Hermione exhaled deeply as she discovered it was only Ginny. "Come with me" the red head called to her and they left, entering another door. Harry and the rest were already there. Ron didn't look well at all. There was a moment of relief before the death eaters rushed in. the group crowded around Ron's prone form protectively and the fight began in earnest.

Try as they might, they couldn't help but be separated. Soon Hermione found herself out of reach of the rest exchanging fire with a masked death eater. She eventually got the better of him, stunning him and turning to go back to the others only to find herself face to face with Fenrir Greyback. She raised her wand and he did the same, she blocked his disarming and stunning spells with ease but knew he was only playing with her. Animalistic as he was, Fenrir was a talented fighter.

"I never came across a mud-blood who smelled so profoundly like wet dog" he said. She heard Bellatrix Lestrange laugh insanely to her left at the joke. "I visited the manor myself after you left. I must say, your blood made my mouth water." Hermione's stomach churned.

She fought harder after his words and he retaliated, though none broke through the others defence. He was smirking, though she could tell he was surprised by how fiercely she duelled. Suddenly there was an almighty shout from one of the death eaters as one by one the order arrived and joined in the fight. Both she and her opponent were distracted by the arrival but he recovered first.

With a wave of his wand he disarmed her. Her wand skittered across the floor before coming to rest beside the huge arch in the middle of the room. She froze as Greyback rounded on her, licking his lips. "I think you and I should have a little alone time before I turn you in to the dark lord and reap my reward. What do you think?" Hermione spit at him. She could feel the bile rising in her throat as he came closer, the stench of his breath was overpowering. She flinched, her back hitting the wall behind her as he reached out and played with her hair. He ran his nose along her cheek, sniffing her, and whispered in her ear "so soft. So delicate." Hermione narrowed her eyes. She was done being the victim. With all the strength she could muster she kneed him in the bludgers. He yelped and fell back. Hermione took his wand and stunned him for good measure before heading back to the others. Her path was blocked by another death eater. He pointed his wand at her and shouted "Avada-"before being tackled to the ground by a large, seriously pissed off looking black dog.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer; same as previous

Chapter 18

Sirius took a moment to smile at Hermione before getting back into the battle at hand. Now that he was back in his human form he grabbed his wand back from Remus and went straight for Bellatrix. That bitch was going down and it was long overdue if he had anything to do with it. Their fight was fierce, they were levelly matched. As they fought they edged closer and closer to the arch in the middle of the room. Harry fought a death eater not far away and Sirius was proud to see how talented his godson was. He was just like his father. Sirius was about to complement him when he slipped on something tubular and fell on his ass, narrowly missing a killing curse Bella shot at him that would have pierced his heart. By then the room was filling with more and more order members and the death eaters turn tail and ran, Bellatrix among them, shouting insults as she ran. Sirius reached under him and felt for the thing he had slipped on. It was a wand he recognised instantly.

Everyone was filing out into the atrium. There had clearly been a fight out here. Fudge stared incredulously at Dumbledore "I don't believe it. He's back!" he said. Then his eyes shot to Sirius and he got ready to run. Dumbledore patted his arm then and told him why he thought Sirius should be exonerated of all charges. "Yes, yes" fudge said still looking dumbfounded. Everyone congratulated him and he accepted their praise with veiled impatience. Where was she? He spotted her then, with harry and Ron. Harry looked worse for wear and Ron brushed glass off his clothes as Hermione fixed his glasses with a wand he knew didn't belong to her.

He made his way through the crowd. She turned as if feeling his eyes on her and her face lit up with relief she ran to him, caught up in the moment and he embraced her, feeling the same relief she felt. They were safe, they were alive and they were free. What was the point of skulking around and hiding? He wondered. Then he remembered. Because she was underage. He let her go and smiled down at her with a wink before grabbing harry in a similar hug.

Sirius's exoneration was all over the daily prophet. He didn't waste any time in moving out of Grimmauld place and taking a large house in the country. Grimmauld was still useful as a safe house for the order and he told Dumbledore he could do with it what he wished but there was no chance he would spend another night there.

Harry was excited about spending the summer there. Hermione was to be going to the burrow. She would be ever grateful to the Weasley's for their kindness towards her. It was still so hard to believe that her parents were in another country with no idea they even had a daughter. She wondered just how much time she would get to spend with Sirius. It might be suspicious if she and Sirius spent too much time together and yet it was all she wanted to do. To her surprise it was harry who gave her the answer. Hermione was just finished packing her trunk for the summer and dragged it down to the common room. Harry was the only one there. They had a few hours before they were due to leave and when he suggested a last walk around the grounds she gratefully accepted.

Once they got out into the summer sunshine harry turned to her. "Hermione, I know you love Sirius." when she opened her mouth to protest he held up his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I've seen how you look at one another and I know he loves you too." She couldn't help but smile a little at this. "Does Ron know?" she asked. That could be a problem, not that he was still hung up on her or anything, but he had a big mouth sometimes. Harry shook his head. "No and I won't tell him, but I think you should soon. I was just thinking about where you were going to stay over the summer. I talked to Sirius about it and he'd love it if you moved in with us, he wanted to ask you himself, but thought you might feel pressured, so how about you stay as my best friend? Ron will be over all the time too anyway" Hermione smiled again "that sounds amazing Harry thank you." it was just like Sirius to worry that she might think he was pushing it by asking her to stay with him.

They walked back up to the castle after a slow stroll by the side of the lake, shielding their eyes against the glare of the sun on the still water. It was a beautiful day and almost felt like a shame to be heading back into the cool castle but she was looking forward to the summer with a sense of excitement.


End file.
